


Whatever it takes!

by Lizphills500



Series: Loki a true Avenger [9]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain Marvel (2019), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Good Loki (Marvel), M/M, Steve Rogers Needs a Hug, Thor is a little bit of a ass, Time Travel Fix-It, post credit scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 36,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23632648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizphills500/pseuds/Lizphills500
Summary: We're in the ENDGAME now
Relationships: Loki/Steve Rogers
Series: Loki a true Avenger [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/321884
Comments: 141
Kudos: 140





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is it, the final part of Loki: a True Avenger. 
> 
> This one has some subtle changes in places and whoppers in others.
> 
> Thank you to Shallowgenepool for proofreading. You have been my rock since Age of Ultron

Three weeks after the battle in Wakanda.

At the Avenger’s compound there was a holographic map of the world, over each continent there was a counter that wouldn’t stop rising, the death toll as a result of the snap growing every moment as more people were reported to have vanished. Steve couldn’t tear his eyes away from the holo-map. He knew if he did, he would have to think about the fact that his lover was dead, and he wasn’t sure he could keep himself together. 

“This is a nightmare.” 

Steve said, breaking a silence that seemed to have lasted for hours.

Natasha was also focused on the map, still unable to comprehend what had happened. “I’ve had better nightmares.” She whispered.

“Hey,” Rhodey called from the doorway. Steve and Natasha turned from the map to look at him. “So that thing just stopped doing what even the hell it was doing.”

The three of them hurried to the lab where Bruce was monitoring the system. 

“What’ve we got?” Natasha asked as the three of them looked at a nineties’ pager. 

The pager had been found just outside the car that Nick and Hill had been last seen driving. However, it soon became clear that it wasn’t an ordinary pager. Since it had been found it had been sending out a broad signal out into space, certainly something that wasn’t meant to happen given the level of technology. They didn’t know what the signal was meant for, but it was almost certainly Nick who had sent the signal, they decided to connect it to an external power supply to make sure it kept transmitting.

Bruce joined them looking at the pager. “Whatever signal it was sending, it finally crapped out.”

Steve looked to Rhodey. “I thought we by-passed the battery.”

Rhodey nodded. “We did. It’s still plugged in, it just stopped.”

Steve panicked a little, as their only possible lifeline had failed. “Reboot it, send the signal again.”

Bruce, having been in space and seen some of what was out there, was more sceptical. “We don’t even know what this is.”

“Fury did.” Natasha replied firmly. “Just do it, please. You tell me the second you get a signal. I want to know who’s on the other end of that thing.”

Natasha turned to head back to the map and found herself face to face to a blonde woman dressed in a tight one-piece suit coloured red, blue and gold with a star in the centre.

“Where’s Fury?” the woman asked bluntly.

Natasha and the rest just stared, her mind whirling around who this woman was, why the star on the front of her suit looked the same as the one on the pager, how she knew Fury and how she had gotten into the compound without anybody knowing. 

Steve recovered first and asked the first one of those questions. “How did you get in here?”

“You need a new window.” The woman said, shrugging. “Now where is Fury and why do you have the pager? Do you know anything about why every planet I have been to in the few weeks has lost half the population?”

Natasha looked back at Steve. “He meant it; he really killed half the universe”

“Who’s he? What do you mean killed half the universe?” The woman asked stepping forward, a glow appearing around her hands.

Steve also stepped forward, putting himself between the newcomer and Natasha. “Stand down. We aren’t your enemy here. Now you say you knew Nick Fury, how and when? Because my understanding was that the first real experience of alien life was when Loki got dumped here from Asgard seven years ago.”

The woman seemed to relax a little. “I guess I’m not really what you would call an alien. I was born here. I was taken by a race called the Kree after a crash involving a scientist called Mar Vel. I absorbed the power of the Tesseract which gave me my powers. As for the skrull, I think he was rather keen not to have other people know."

“Kree!” Natasha started forward, heading past the woman and into the main living area of the compound. Steve and the woman exchanged looks before following, Bruce and Rhodey not far behind. They found Natasha in her room, pulling open one of her drawers. She reached inside and pulled out a plain-looking flash drive from inside the sole of a pair of sneakers.

“Nick gave me this before I signed the Accords, I think he knew I would come to blows with Ross’s control eventually.” She said, holding up the drive. She walked over to her laptop and opened up the drive. There was just one file named KREE. “The file is encrypted, and I’ve never been able to crack it.”

The woman was looking over Natasha’s shoulder. “Your computers are a lot smaller and faster than the last time I was here.”

“And when was that?” Steve asked, wondering if she was going to answer this question. She had only answered about half so far.

She looked up at him. “Nineteen-ninety-five.” 

Natasha wasn’t paying attention to the conversation going on behind her. “I’ve tried a load of different passwords, but maybe it has something to do with you.”

Natasha then typed in Mar Vel. Access denied flashed up on the screen in red. She slumped back into her chair in frustration.

“Try Marvel, one word. He said it sounded better. It what he called me.” The woman said. 

Natasha typed it in and the green letters of Access granted popped up on the screen. The file was contained a complete report on the incident surrounding an alien incursion twenty-three years ago, involving the aforementioned Kree, a shapeshifting species called the Skrull and an enhanced human named Carol Danvers, who looked identical to the woman standing next to them. Fury had code-named her Captain Marvel. There was also the original Avengers proposal, which mentioned her as a possible future member should she return to Earth.

Steve looked from the image on the screen to the woman standing next to him. She hadn’t changed or aged a day. The file including a letter to both Natasha and Steve, telling them that should something to happen to him and the pager had been switched on, they could trust Danvers. 

“So now that you know who I am, are you going to tell me where Fury is and what happened?” Carol asked.

The group moved into the strategy room, where, after formal introductions were made, Steve explained to Carol everything relevant that had happened since she left Earth, from Loki’s visit to New Mexico to the Battle of Wakanda. Carol for her part listened intently and was more forthcoming with her own experiences with the cube, although she really couldn’t say much, as she still didn’t know how she had absorbed the power from the Tesseract and survived anyway. She was surprised to find out that Captain America was still alive, but as someone who had also apparently come back from the dead herself, she could hardly argue.

“And you don’t know where Thanos went after he used the stones?” Carol asked once she was finally on the same page as the rest of them. “Is it likely he went back to his home planet?”

“At this point anything is possible, but we have no clue where that is.” Steve reply.

“Thor and Loki called him the Mad Titan. Makes sense that’s where he’s from.” Bruce said, from the doorway. He had been listening in but hadn’t joined them as he was wary of the newcomer. 

Part of him wished Thor was with them right now, as he had a lot more experience of things in space, but he was currently with the surviving Asgardians who had arrived on Earth a week ago, Valkyrie among them.

Carol checked her suit’s database. “Titan is a planet about fifteen jumps from here, but it hasn’t supported life in decades. Which would make it a good place to hide. I can be there in just over a day, find out if Thanos did go there.” 

With that, she jumped up and headed out to the parade ground, Steve hot on her tail. 

“Wait, give me time to get my team together and we’ll go with you if your ship is big enough.” Steve shouted.

Carol turned to look at him with a smile. “Who said I had a ship?”

Then her body began to glow, and she rose off the ground under her own power. A helmet appeared on her head which only allowed her hair to visible like a Mohican. With a small wave to Steve, she lifted her arms and shot up into the sky, a trail of light following her as she went.

Natasha had arrived just in time to see her leave and said. “What now, Cap?”

Steve’s eyes never left the sky, his mind was still spinning from the recent events. An hour ago, they were floundering with no clue what they were going to do next. Now they had acquired a new ally who might just have the power to help them to find Thanos and the stones. 

“We trust that she comes back with answers because right now it’s all we’ve got.  
Better get Thor back here, just in case.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Captain Marvel makes her return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next few parts have little changes, in more in the feels

Steve looked in the mirror after shaving off the remains of his beard. He had grown it to help obscure his identity and while he had to admit that it did suit him, he was no longer a criminal. Ross and what was left of the UN had revoked the Accords, especially when it was pointed out that the Avengers were the only ones with even slimmest hope of reversing the Snap. Plus, the longer he looked at it, the more he felt Loki’s fingers running through his beard the only and one time they had kissed before he died and the pain was just too much. So, it had to go. Maybe if they did find Thanos and reverse what he had done, he would grow it again for his lover.

Thoughts of his lover brought him to thinking about Thor. He didn’t know what to make of the self-proclaimed God of Thunder and former King of Asgard. He had been very withdrawn since Thanos escaped, which according to what Loki had told him in the past, was very out of character. He had carried out his responsibilities to his people but according to the woman, Valkyrie, who had come back with him to see Bruce, he had been like a ghost going through the motions. 

The only time he had seemed to perk up was when he tried to comfort Steve over Loki. They had talked a little and Steve could see that at least in regards to his brother, Thor really had changed, and their shared grief helped create the beginnings of a friendship.

He was staring at himself in the mirror, trying to summon the will to go and face his team again, when it began to shake, slightly at first and stronger as the walls themselves vibrated. Steve rushed out on to the parade ground, having been met by Natasha, Bruce and Rhodey at the building’s main door. They ran out as they saw a large spaceship flying towards the ground. It was only when the ship got closer, they realised the ship was being guided or possibly carried by Carol Danvers. They were met there by Pepper, who had arrived at the compound that morning, a feeling telling her that this was where she should be.

Carol brought the ship smoothly in to land, making sure the landing struts were secure before letting go, the glow around her fading as she too set foot on solid ground. The hatch opened and Steve ran forward to meet Tony, who was being helped by Nebula. The others, even Pepper hung back a little, knowing that this was for them alone. Steve wrapped his arm around him, feeling his ribs as he went. Tony hadn’t eaten properly since he had been taken by Maw’s ship and had lost a lot of weight. Steve was almost holding him up as they walked away from the ship.

“Couldn't stop him,” Tony said quickly.

“Neither could I.” Steve answer, trying to move his friend as quickly as he could towards the compound and medical attention.

Tony stopped and turned, forcing Steve to look him in the eye. “I lost the kid.”

“Tony, we lost.” Steve replied after a pause, “I lost Loki.”

Tony’s eyes widened as he saw the pain in Steve’s eyes. He wanted to tell him how sorry he was, but he knew Steve well enough to know that he didn’t want to hear those words right now. Tony’s attention had been on Steve and he had a question that he needed answering “Is, uh...?”

The question died on his lips as the subject of that question suddenly appeared next to him, knowing that it was her turn to care for Tony. “Oh, my God!” 

Pepper wept as she wrapped her arms around the man she had almost given up for dead. “Oh, my God!”

Tony held her tight, the relief that she had survived overshadowing everything else that he had been feeling. “It's okay.”

Steve watched their reunion with mixed feelings, happy for them of course, but also a little bitter when remembering his own with Loki, just weeks before. He hoped that theirs wasn’t cut short as well. Along with Pepper, he helped Tony back to the compound.

Behind them, Rocket had sat next to Nebula and took her hand, the only acknowledgement either would make to the loss of their own family and the promise that they would never leave the other.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team catches Tony up, which doesn't go well

Back inside the compound, the team wasted no time on bringing Tony up to speed with the situation on Earth. He was sitting in a wheelchair, a saline drip rehydrating him before they could risk food. Hi The rest of the Avengers were standing, looking at the holo-table which was now showing pictures of the confirmed missing after the Snap. Steve looked away as Loki’s face appeared just as Tony did when Peter Parker’s showed.

“It's been 23 days since Thanos came to Earth,” Rhodey said, even though everyone in the room could mark it to the hour. 

Natasha took over, as she had been the one dealing with what was left of mankind’s leaders. “World governments are in pieces. The parts that are still working are trying to take a census. And it looks like he did... he did exactly what he said he was gonna do. Thanos wiped out fifty percent of all living creatures.”

“Where is he now? Where?” Tony asked, hoping someone else had an answer or a plan for what they were going to do next.

Steve had been hoping for the same thing. He sighed and said. “We don't know. He just opened a portal and walked through.”

Tony wheeled forward, unsure of what to say. He scanned the room and his eyes fell on Thor who was sitting on a bench just outside the room, staring at the floor, with a metaphorical black cloud hanging over him. Knowing his powers, Steve was surprised that there wasn’t a real one there. 

Tony was in the dark and didn’t know who he was as he hadn’t been introduced to him when he met Carol and Rocket. “Who’s that guy? What his beef in all of this?”

Steve looked over at the man who had claimed him as another brother. “That’s Thor, King of Asgard and Loki’s Brother. He turned up halfway through the battle and tipped things in our favour. Until Thanos arrived.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “I thought Rock of Ages said he was an asshole. Why is he sulking?”

“Oh, he's pissed.” Rocket pipped up. “He thinks he failed. Which of course he did, but you know there's a lot of that's going around, ain't there?”

Tony forgot all about Thor as his attention switched to the speaker. “Honestly, until this exact second, I thought you were a Build-A-Bear.”

Rocket had no clue what Build-A-Bear was, but he could tell by the tone it was meant as an insult. But he didn’t have the heart to care either way right now. “Maybe I am.”

Knowing that this was Tony method of avoiding their current situation, Steve quickly tried to bring the discussion back on topic. “We've been hunting Thanos for three weeks now. Deep space scans and satellites and we got nothing. Tony, you fought him.”

“Who told you that?” Tony replied, sounding shocked at the suggestion. “I didn't fight him. No, he wiped my face with a planet while the Bleecker Street magician gave away the store. That's what happened. There was no fight.” 

“Okay,” Steve said trying to calm him down.

“He's unbeatable.” Tony continued.

“Did he give you any clues, any coordinates, anything?” Steve realised ten seconds after he said it that it was completely the wrong thing to say. Looking at the state for him, they didn’t sit down and talk over tea. And that was before the starvation and dehydration. 

“Pfft!” Tony snorted giving Steve a mock salute. “I saw this coming a few years back. I had a vision. I didn't wanna believe it. Thought I was dreaming.”

Steve stood to check on him, fearing he was becoming delusional. “Tony, I'm gonna need you to focus.”

“And I needed you. As in past tense. That trumps what you need. It's too late buddy.” Steve bit back that all Tony needed to do was call him and he would have been there, knowing that it wouldn’t do any good either way.

“Sorry. You know what I need?” Tony continued, standing, knocking things off the table as he did so, making Rhodey jump. “I need to shave. And I believe I remember telling all youse”

He ripped the drip out of his arm. Rhodey wasn’t happy. “Tony, Tony, Tony!”

His friend ignored him. “Alive and otherwise what we needed was a suit of armour around the world! Remember that? Whether it impacted our precious freedoms or not- that's what we needed!”

Steve was getting a little frustrated now. “Well, that didn't work out, did it?” 

Tony didn’t like the reminder of how is ‘Armour’ had turned out. His tone was bitter as he replied. “I said, "we'd lose". You said, 'We'll do that together too.' And guess what, cap? We lost. And you weren't there. But that's what we do, right? Our best work after the fact? We're the Avengers, we're the Avengers. Not the Prevengers.”

Rhodey, worried that he was going to hurt himself, tried to get Tony to sit back down. “Okay. You made your point. Just sit down."

“Right?” Tony asked. “Okay...”

“Okay?” Rhodey asked, not sure if he had won or not. 

He hadn’t. Tony leaned forward, trying to walk towards Steve. “Nah, nah. Here's my point. You know what?”

Rhodey tried to push Tony a little harder, surprised how strong the emaciated man was. “Tony, you're sick.”

Tony attention switched seamlessly to Carol who hadn’t said a word since the start of the briefing. 

“She's great, by the way. We need you. You're new blood.” He finally broke free of Rhodey and staggered towards Steve, stopping just short of touching him. “Bunch of tired old mules! I got nothing for you, cap! I got no coordinates, no clues, no strategies, no options. Zero. Zip. Nada. No trust. Liar.”

The last two sentences hung in the air for a moment. Steve knew that they carried a double meaning, not just about what happened with Thanos but also what went before it. It pained Steve to hear out loud that the friendship that, despite their differences, had meant so much to him, had turned to dust. His heart broke again for the second time in a month.

The pair held their gaze, the air thick with tension until Tony reached up and pulled the housing from his chest. Steve’s eyes followed the movement, knowing what the action meant. Ironman had given up the fight.

Tony slammed it into his hand. “Here, take this. You find him, and you put that on. You hide.”

The adrenaline he had been running on finally gave out and Tony dropped to his knees. Steve, Rhodey and Carol went to help him, but he pushed them away. 

“I’m fine.” He maintained before he dropped again to the floor.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team go after the stones

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is again more Steve feels

Steve watched as Tony was loaded into the helicopter taking him to one of only three hospitals in New York City with enough staff to run them, where hopefully he would be able to start not just his physical recovery but his mental one too. He hated seeing him like this. His friend was broken in more ways than one and he hoped that he could find a way to fix it. Tony had refused to see anyone but Pepper and Rhodey and only him if he didn’t talk about their plan to find Thanos.

They had done a lot of work in the last forty-eight hours since Nebula had told where to find Thanos’ hiding place. She and Rocket had spent most of that time repairing their ship. Given the fact that Earth technology was still primitive by their standards, the engines had been modified substantially to allow them to be fitted with an Ark Reactor core. Now the repairs were complete, and they were getting ready to ship out. 

Steve was surprised that now that there was a plan, Thor had become a good deal more involved. He began to see a little of the man Loki had described although he would slip back into his melancholy should Thanos be mentioned or Loki. He still tried to talk to Steve about his brother and this time Steve was more open as there was new hope that he could bring him back with the rest. 

Once the chopper was out of sight, Steve headed inside to gear up. He put on his uniform which had been left over from his time at SHIELD, the one he had used during his exile being now beyond repair. He also picked up his old field compass, which thankfully had been found with him in the ice and tucked it into his belt. He hadn’t opened it in years, but he always had it will him on missions.

As soon as everyone was on board, Rocket quickly took charge and got the ship into orbit.

“Okay, who here hasn't been to space?” He asked as the ship began to accelerate. 

Behind him, Steve and Natasha raised their hands quickly, with Rhodey following suit looking a little confused. “Why?” He asked.

The question made Carol giggle. Rocket ignore her and replied. “You better not throw up on my ship.”

Nebula who had been programming the ship for the jump suddenly announced. “Approaching jump in three... two... one!”

The ship suddenly lurched forward and was surrounded by bright, almost blinding lines of light. Steve’s eyes widened as they seemed to fly through a hole in space. As quickly as it started, the jump was over with no-one the worse for wear. The ship settled gently into orbit around the planet where they hoped they would find Thanos and more importantly, the stones. 

Carol immediately left the ship, pausing only to say. “I'll head down for recon.” before she took off towards the surface.

Inside, anticipation filled the air as the Avengers waited to see what was going to happen. Steve was staring into space, turning the field compass around in his fingers.

Natasha of course noticed. “This is gonna work, Steve.”

“I know it will,” Steve replied. “’Cause I don't know what I'm going to do if it doesn't.”

Natasha nodded, understanding as she felt the same. Her eye was drawn to the compass that was still in his hand. “What’s in that thing? You never open it.”

Steve looked at the compass and slowly opened it to reveal a picture of Peggy Carter. Natasha looked confused as that was not what she had expected. Steve then pulled out the picture and opened it to show that standing next to her was Loki when he had been Lorcan.

“It never occurred to me to cut the picture. I mean I knew I should to make it fit, but I didn’t want to damage it. I think it was my subconscious telling me how much he really meant to me. After I woke up, I never opened it because I couldn’t face the fact that I had lost them both, although I had accepted at that point that I wanted him more. So, I didn’t open it and after I found him again, I knew he was there, so I didn’t need to.”

Steve put the picture back in the compass, Loki’s face now the one on show. There wasn’t time to say anything else as Carol returned to the ship.

“No satellites, no ships, no armies, no ground defences of any kind. It's just him.” She reported sounding mildly surprised.

“And that's enough.” Nebula stated simply.

Steve watched their target and couldn’t believe it was the same man that a month ago, had crushed all their efforts as if it as nothing. Thanos was limping towards the hut, carrying a bag of fruit with him. A very small part of him felt sorry for whatever had happened to him, he wasn’t a cruel man after all. But he had a mission to complete and billions of lives to help save. As soon as Thanos was in the hut, Steve signalled for Carol. He was nearly blinded by the light from her plasma blast as it smashed through the door with her following close behind. As he and Natasha approached the hut, they could hear sounds of the fight, including a roar of pain which sounded like Thanos. 

Steve was stone-faced as he entered the hut. Thanos was being restrained by Carol, her arm around his neck, Rhodey, holding on to his right arm and Bruce who was holding his left arm. The hand that was once attached to that arm was lying where it had fallen after Thor had cut it off, still inside the gauntlet. Steve took a moment to look at his enemy and saw that something had happened to him, something which had burned the left side of his face and probably explained the limp. Rocket had jumped down from Rhodey’s shoulder and hurried to the gauntlet, turning it over. Steve’s eyes went wide in shock as he saw that it no longer housed the stones.

“Oh no.” Rocket said, voicing what everyone had been thinking. Steve stared at the empty gauntlet for a long moment before meeting Natasha’s eyes. They both knew hope was fading. Thanos drew everyone’s attention back to him when he groaned at this treatment he was receiving from his captors.

“Where are they?” Steve asked flatly, doing everything to keep his emotions in check.

When the Titan stayed silent, Carol tightened her hold. “Answer the question!”

Thanos groaned again at the pressure on his airway, but he gasped his reply. 

“The universe required correction. After that, the stones served no purpose, beyond temptation.” He replied, his voiced still filled with the conviction to a purpose that had left him crippled. 

“You murdered trillions!” Bruce shouted as he let his anger and pain get the better of him. He pushed Thanos is the floor, the suit making up for his lack of strength.

“You should be grateful.” Thanos continued, which was answered by a punch in the face from Bruce.

Natasha looked to be a breaking point, tears filling her eyes. Her voice shook as she asked, even though she had a dreadful feeling that it was over. “Where are the stones?”

“Gone. Reduced to atoms.” He answered, not bothering to hide the contempt he clearly felt for them all.

Bruce didn’t or couldn’t believe him. “You used them two days ago!” 

Thanos rose slightly as if he was trying to make his point clear to everyone. “I used the stones to destroy the stones. It nearly killed me. But the work is done. It always will be. I am... inevitable.”

As he spoke, Steve knew he was telling the truth. It dawned on him that he looked more scared than had after he had used the stones in Wakanda, meaning something must have happened in the meantime. Steve believed him.

Rhodey wasn’t convinced. “We have to tear this place apart, he-he-he has to be lying.”

No one else moved to help him. 

“My father is many things. A liar is not one of them.” Nebula explained with a calmness, an absolute surety that convinced the rest. 

She walked slowly towards him. As she did so, he turned to look at her and for the first time in her life, there was no disappointment in his eyes. “Ah, thank you, daughter. Perhaps I treated you too harshly.”

While all this had been going on, Thor was slowly being filled with anger and hate, shame and fear. All his failures from his past filled his mind, with his brother’s death rising above them all. There was something in the way Thanos was suddenly talking kindly to his adopted daughter that made it all boil over and with a single swing, he took off Thanos’ head with Stormbreaker. With that, all his feeling ebbed away and he was left hollow inside. Nebula watched as her father’s body hit the floor and then slowly she wiped away the blood that had splattered on to her face. It was over and for the first time in her life, she was truly free.

The rest of the Avengers watched on in shock. Rocket was the first to recover enough to ask. “What... What did you do?”

The truth as his actions dawned on Thor and all he could do was vaguely repeat Thanos’ own words. “I went for the head.”

Thor turned away, staggering from the death that he had caused. The rest slowly began to accept that there was nothing more to be done, that they had lost again, and it hurt. Nebula alone approached the body, remembering that for all his faults he was the only father she had ever known. She closed his eyes as a last act of respect.

Steve looked at the body of the Titan for a moment, before he turned away and ran from the hut. After a few hundred yards he dropped to his knees and threw up. The tears he had been holding in since Thanos used the stones were running down his face and he clenched his compass to his chest as the last spark of hope died, leaving his heart shattered.  
�


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years later

No one ever truly got used to the silence of New York City. While nothing was stopping them, it was as if no one wanted to break the air of mourning that hung over them. 

Anyone over the age of twelve or thirteen could remember what it had been like, the city that never slept, before the Decimation. Those younger, not knowing any different, didn’t understand why the silence would upset their parents, but they knew that it did and that was enough to keep them quiet, particularly at night.

Everyone knew someone who had been killed that day. Not a single family remained unscathed. Some were grateful that they at least had been spared, others hated that they had been left behind. Therapists were busier than ever and it had become the Earth’s only growth industry. Every hall, former youth centre and empty shop hosted a Support Group every night as everyone tried and often failed to come to terms with the death of half the world’s population.

In an old Veterans centre in Brooklyn, one such group was taking place. It was made up of people who had lost someone close to them. Joe, a group regular, began talking about his recent attempt to restart his life.

“So I, uh... Went on a date the other day. It's the first time in five years, you know? I'm sitting there at dinner... I didn't even know what to talk about.”

Next to him was Steve. He had been coming here for three years and leading the group now for two. After they had returned home, he found he needed a break from the rest of the Avengers, needed space and time to heal from his heartbreak, not that he had been the only one. Bruce and Tony had also left the team behind. He hadn’t seen anyone but Natasha for over a year, the last time more than a month ago. The group gave him a purpose, a sense that he was still doing something to help people. Something as Steve Rogers, not Captain America, who he’d left behind in space. The faces were always changing but he would always be there until they stopped walking through his door. He had wondered years ago what had made Sam set up his Veteran’s group in DC, now he understood completely.

“What did you talk about?” He asked, hoping to encourage Joe to open up a little more.

“Same old crap, you know?” Joe replied. “How things have changed, and... my job, his job... How much we miss the Mets. And then things get quiet... He cried as they were serving the salads.”

“What about you?” An older man asked.

“I cried... just before dessert.” No one batted an eyelid as he talked about them crying over dinner. Tears had become the universal language over the last five years. He seemed to brighten as he continued. “But I'm seeing him again tomorrow, so...”

Steve nodded as he heard that, glad that someone was looking forward. “That's great. You did the hardest part. You took the jump; you didn't know where you were gonna come down. And that's it. That's those little brave baby steps we gotta take. To try and become whole again, try and find purpose. I went into the ice in 'forty-five right after I met the love of my life. Woke up seventy years later and was lucky enough to find him alive and still as handsome as ever. While we couldn’t always be together, we had seven years of loving each other. But he’s been gone now, and I’m still here. He wouldn’t want me living in the past. You gotta move on. Gotta move on. The world is in our hands. It's left to us guys, and we got to do something with it. Otherwise... Thanos should have killed all of us.”

It was a speech he had said in several forms over the years, but always with the same message at its core. Looking to the future not living in the past. The meeting broke up a few minutes later, with everyone who had anything to say having already spoken. Steve hoped that what he said actually helped the members, but he knew that next week he would be back here, hoping to hear more people taking the leap of faith.

After the meeting, one of the men, Jake, stuck around to help out. It wasn’t the first time and Steve smiled at him as he stacked the chairs against the wall. However, once everything was back in order, he was surprised that Jake was still hanging around.

“Is everything ok?” Steve asked.

The other man looked a little shy, his hands tucked into his jeans pockets. He looked as if he was trying to think of something to say. “You said in the group about moving on and I think I’m ready to. I know it not what we are here for but I was wondering maybe.. if you wanted to get a drink? Or catch a movie?”

Steve sighed. It wasn’t the first time he had been asked in the last five years, more by a woman then men, but he knew that his answer would never change and that he would have to let yet another person down gently. He was lucky that he had already told people about his relationship with Loki, using it as a bit of an icebreaker to encourage others to open up.

“I’m sorry, Jake. They say practice what you preach, but I.. I can’t move on. You see Loki, he was the love of my life and yes, he would have wanted me to move on with my life, but I had a habit of not doing what he wanted. I know that anyone I tried to be with, I could never love them and that’s not fair on them, coming second to a someone that's dead.”

Jake nodded as if he understood. “I thought as much, but I wanted to try anyway. You can tell you know, the way you talk about him, you know how much he meant to you. I’ll see next week, Cap.”

Steve watched as the man walked out through the door. It had been three years since someone called him Cap and in almost as long, he felt something stir in him. He knew he was helping here, but his gut was telling him that he didn’t belong. In fact, he was feeling the call to find his way home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve goes home

Steve had never been one to eavesdrop but as he walked into the main lounge of the compound, he could hardly miss that Natasha was just finishing up a meeting. Nebula, Rocket and Carol were all transmitting from space. Steve noted that his fellow Captain was now sporting a longer crew cut. Standing in the other Holo-receivers were Okoye and Rhodey, both on different parts of Earth, trying to help the martial law governments. 

Natasha sounded a little lost as if she was trying to organise people that were determined to do their own thing and were simply paying her lip service. They didn’t mean to disrespect what she was trying to do, but Okoye, in particular, didn’t need guidance to run her own country's affairs. Natasha was still determined to try and maintain a feeling of order in their group. She wasn’t a born leader, but with Tony and Steve gone, there wasn’t anyone else. 

“Alright. Uh, well. This channel is always active. So, if anything goes sideways... anyone's making trouble where they shouldn't... comes through me.”

There was little hesitation as each agreed and signed off. Carol hung on for a moment and turned to Rhodey and said. “Good luck” before she also faded from view.

Thinking she was alone, Natasha sat down and sighed, letting her mask slip for a moment before she realised that she was not alone. Rhodey was still connected and she remembered that she hadn’t had a report from him.

“Where are you?” She asked.

Rhodey crossed his arms, knowing that what he was going to say would hurt his friend but knew he had to say it anyway. “Mexico. The Federales found a room full of bodies. Looks like a bunch of cartel guys. Never even had the chance to get their guns off.”

Natasha leaned back in her chair, putting a foot up on the desk. “It's probably a rival gang.”

“Except it isn't.” 

Rhodey replied, bluntly. The look on Natasha’s face told him she wasn’t surprised. “It's definitely Barton. What he's done here, what he's been doing for the last few years... I mean, the scene that he left... I gotta tell you, there's a part of me that doesn't even want to find him.”

As he had been talking, Natasha had been focused on a single spot on the desk, refusing to let her friend see the emotion in her eyes. She knew that he was right in everything he was saying but as always when it came to Barton, her heart was stronger than her head. 

There was a long silence before she reached out to pick up her sandwich. “Will you find out where he's going next?” Then she took a bite as if she had just asked the state of the weather.

“Nat...” he replied, knowing that she could guess the rest of the sentence.

There was another pause before she said. “Please.”

Rhodey knew he had lost this round like he had so many times before. Reluctantly he replied. “Okay.” Before he shut down his connection. 

Steve watched a little longer as Natasha put down the sandwich and breathed heavily into her hand as she tried to fight back tears. He remembered the heartbreak in her eyes when they had found out that Laura and the kids had been among the lost and Hawkeye had gone rogue, using an old alias. Ronan. There was no way to quantify the bond those two shared. He had caught her, saved her, trusted her with the truth of his family. And she loved him more than anyone else in her life, something Steve could understand from his friendships with Bucky and relationship with Loki. So now she was determined to save him. If there was anything left to save when they finally found him.

Steve knew she would hate the idea of people seeing her mask cracked and decided it was time to announce himself. He stepped closer and leant on some shelves.

“You know, I'd offer to cook you dinner but you seem pretty miserable already.” He said lightly, hoping that the humour in his voice would help her put her mask back in place. After all, he was rather a good cook, or at least Loki always told him he was.

Natasha removed her hands and looked over at her absent friend. Except for Clint and possibly Coulson and Fury, he was the only one who she would allow to see her like this. 

“You here to do your laundry?” She responded in the same kind as Steve.  
This told Steve it was okay for him to be there. “And to see a friend.”

“Clearly Your friend is fine.” She replied, knowing full well that he knew it was a lie.

Steve suddenly felt at a little lost with what to say and looked at his keys for inspiration. As he was still the support group mode, he said. “You know I saw a pod of whales when I was coming up the bridge.”

“In the Hudson?” She said sounding surprised.

“There's fewer ships, cleaner water.” He explained.

Natasha recognised the therapy line. She looked up at the ceiling. “You know if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side. Um... I'm about you to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich.”

She gave him a tight sarcastic smile, which made him give a short laugh in return. He walked towards the desk saying. “Sorry. Force of habit.”

After throwing his coat on a chair, he took a seat opposite his friend. They sat for a moment. Then the humour was gone from his voice when he continued, “You know, I keep telling everybody they should move on and... grow. Some do. But not us.”

“If I move on, who does this?” She replied, “Will you let go of him?”

Steve thought for a moment, knowing full well who she meant. “No, but that doesn’t mean I can’t move on with other parts of my life. Same for you. Maybe this doesn't need to be done.”

Natasha looked as if the mere suggestion was impossible. There were still tears in her eyes and she shook her head as she replied. 

“I used to have nothing. And then I got this. This job... this family. And I was... I was better because of it. And even though... they're gone... I'm still trying to be better.”

If anyone could understand, it was Steve. He could say the same thing about the serum, how it made him a better person to help people and it brought him to the man who loved him. Still, he knew they couldn’t carry on living in the past. “I think we both need to get a life.” 

She smiled at him. “You first.”

The moment between them was broken when a perimeter alert popped up in front of her. With a sweep of her hand, she sent a command to the holo-screen to activate the camera feed. Steve followed it with his eyes. His jaw dropped when a face that couldn’t possibly be standing at the gate was looking up at the camera. A face that should be dead.

Scott Lang was standing next to an old brown van, waving and shouting to attract attention. 

“Oh! Hi. Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognise me.”

Natasha looked stunned and Steve stood to get a better look and the holo-image “Is this an old message?”

Natasha followed suit, not taking her eyes from the screen. “It's the front gate.”

All the while Scott, being Scott was still talking. “Ant-man? Ant-man, I know you know that. I need to talk to you guys.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott explains where he has been in the last five years. A plan beginners to form

Steve and Natasha watched as Scott paced around the room, his body buzzing with nervous energy. When they had gone to the main gate to make sure that it wasn’t some funny glitch in the system, the man had begun his hero-worshipping of Captain America all over again as he had in the airport. In any other situation, it would have started to get a little wearing, but Steve was so shocked and pleased to see someone who they thought killed in the decimation, he let it go right over his head. However, they had now been in the compound for twenty minutes and were still no closer to finding out where he had been for the last five years, apart from it had something to do with the van. 

“Scott,” Steve asked Scott continued to pace. “Are you okay?”

Scott stopped and looked at Steve. He covered his face with his hands while he said. “Yeah. I'm fine.” 

He took a moment to think about where he was going to start before he said. “Have you ever studied quantum physics?”

“Only to make conversation,” Natasha replied in her deadpan way, telling him that they had, in fact, never studied quantum physics.

Scott pointed at her as if to stay touché, then continued. “Alright. So... five years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the quantum realm. The quantum realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my... She was my...”

He stopped for a moment and Steve recognised the look in his eye. This was obviously someone that Scott cared for a lot, someone close to him. His heart went out to the man, knowing how raw that pain was first-hand.  
Scott steadied himself and said. “She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there.”

“I'm sorry. That must've been a very long five years.” Natasha interrupted, the condolence rolling out of her mouth in an all too practised way. 

Scott shook his head. “Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours. See, the rules of the quantum realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving.” 

He suddenly rushed forward to the plate that Natasha had abandoned earlier. While he had been talking Steve and Natasha had exchanged more than one sceptical look. There was however no denying that he had been missing for five years and there would have much more believable reasons he could have given for hiding all that time, especially that they had seen him both little and large. Nor given their experiences would it be the weirdest thing that had ever happened to one of their team.

Steve, however, was still a little lost as while he had pretty much caught up with the rest of the world, he had left advanced science safely in the hands of Tony, Bruce and Loki. 

“Scott, what are you talking about?”

As he took a bite out of the sandwich, Scott looked like he hadn’t eaten in five years. Still, he tried to talk around the food. “What I'm saying is, time works differently in the quantum realm. The only problem is right now, we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if, we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way to enter the quantum realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos.”

Steve watched as his new friend walked around as he explained himself, something he had seen Bruce do more than once. It also occurred to him that he had no idea that Scott was more than your average Joe who happened upon Hank Pym and his suit. Now he could tell that the guy could give most of the former SHIELD science division a run for their money. Maybe not Tony or Bruce but certainly not that far behind.

Steve decided to try and rationalise what he was being told in a way that he could relate to. “Wait, are you talking about a time machine?”

Scott quickly was on the defensive. “No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. It's more like a...” 

He stopped for a moment to think about his was saying when the truth dawned on him. “Yeah, a time machine. I know it's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way... There's gotta be...some w... it's crazy.” 

Natasha simply nodded at him. “Scott, I get e-mails from a raccoon, so nothing sounds crazy anymore.”

“So, who do we talk to about this?” the poor man asked.

Steve realised that while Scott had been talking, part of him was starting to come alive again. The part that was starting to plan how and when and where that was thinking of strategies and contingencies. His hand drifted to his jeans pocket, where, as always, lay the compass. And for the first time in five years, he felt hope.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team go looking for help

Tony couldn’t believe what he was hearing, as he was pouring himself a drink. Like Steve and Natasha, he had been very surprised that Scott had seemingly returned from the dead. Of course, he understood the science behind the man’s rambling. After he had seen Ant-man in action in Berlin, Tony had dug into his father’s files and found the basics of Hank Pym’s theories before his split from SHIELD. He had also done his own research, so he knew about the quantum realm and all its dangers.

The biggest surprise was that Steve, the most level headed man he knew, had brought him here, of all places. Right now, he was trying to figure his reason was the most interesting part of the conversation. Still, he could tell that Scott finished talking and returned his attention to him. The man was crazy if his proposed idea was anything to go by. 

“Now, we know what it sounds like...” Scott said once he had explained what he wanted to do. He paused, understanding that it was a lot for anyone to take in all at once, even someone as intelligent as Tony.

“Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?” Steve continued.

“Quantum fluctuation,” Tony interrupted Steve. “messes with the Planck scale, which then triggers the Deutsch proposition. Can we agree on that?”

He handed Steve the drink, knowing that he didn’t know any of the scientific principles he had just mentioned. Years ago, he would have done it to make fun of Steve. Today, it was just his way of showing the magnitude of the problem they faced.

Steve took the drink, understanding Tony's motives completely. “Thank you.”

Tony then turned to Scott, feeling the need to break it down for him. “In Layman's terms, it means you're not coming home.”

“I did.” Scott jumped in, not willing to give up without a fight. 

Tony signed, feeling guilty that he was going to have to burst the guy’s bubble. “No, you accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull off a... What do you call it?”

“A time-heist?” Scott replied as he took the drink his host offered, knowing that the name wasn’t doing his proposal any favours.

“Yeah, a time-heist.” Tony looked around to Steve and Natasha, again wondering why they thought for one second it could work. “Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipe-dream?”

Steve knew it wasn’t a pipe-dream. “The stones are in the past. We can go back and get them.”

“We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back.” Natasha put in, having been quiet up until now. 

“Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?” Was the frank reply.

“I don't believe we would.” Steve countered, completely convinced he was right.

“Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism,” Tony answered, the sarcasm clear in his voice. Then he became more serious as he sat down. “However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time-heist. I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise.”

“Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel.” Scott butted in having withdrawn a little as the other three had been talking. “That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events.”

Even Steve cringed on hearing Scott. Tony was blunter. “I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back to The Future?”

Realizing what he had made his plan sound like, the younger man scoffed slightly before saying. “No.”

“Good. You had me worried there. 'Cause that'd be horse shit. That's not how quantum physics works.” 

Nat could tell that Tony was mocking him and she didn’t want the pointless debate to carry on. “Tony... We have to take a stand.”

“We did stand. And yet, here we are.” The answer made her turn away to hide the pain that was written on her face.

“I know you got a lot on the line.” Scott tried one last time. “You got a wife, a daughter. But Cap and me, we lost someone very important to us. A lot of people did. And now. Now we have a chance to bring them back. Bring everyone back. And you're telling me that won't even...”

“That's right, Scott, I won't even. I got a kid.” Tony’s tone was resigned, telling them all that there was nothing they could say that would change his mind. Steve could even understand why knowing what Tony had gone through to get his family.

Steve knew that this wasn’t the best argument that Tony could have used, seeing as Scott had just missed the last five years of his own kid’s life. But before anyone else could say anything, the little girl that Tony had been carrying when they arrive darted from the house and into Tony’s arms.

“Mommy told me to come and save you,” Morgan said softly, thinking that nobody but her daddy could hear her. Tony held her close. 

“Good job. I'm saved.” He looked at his friends. “I wish you'd come here to ask me something else. Anything else. Honestly, I... I missed you guys, it was... Oh, and the table's set for six.”

Steve knew that his friend meant every word. He wasn’t the man he had fought in the bunker in Siberia, that man had vanished on Titan. This man knew real pain, real loss and he wished he didn’t have to ask. 

Tony rose to carry Morgan back into the house, but Steve grabbed his arm. “Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance.”

“I got my second chance right here, Cap. I can't roll the dice again.” There was real fear in Tony’s eyes as he spoke. He then pulled away and headed back inside saying. 

“If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch.”

They all stayed, feeling it would be rude not to. After all, an hour wouldn’t make that much difference, given that the past wasn’t going anywhere. They respected Tony’s request and didn’t mention the time-heist again. Although Steve did have to give Scott more than one meaningful look. They tried to talk about other things but every topic that they tried brought up a bad memory for one of them and soon they gave up. It was a very awkward meal, which even Morgan noticed.

After lunch, Tony wasn’t surprised to see Steve following him into the study, while Natasha was catching up with Pepper and Morgan. Scott had gone back on to the porch, as seeing Morgan had reminded him of all the time he had missed with Cassie, which was more than the last five.

“Tony.” Steve began, “I know we haven’t talked since that day. I am sorry for everything that happened. You were right what you said, you knew it was coming and I wasn’t there, but I still don’t believe Ultron would have stopped him, even if he had worked out the way you wanted.”

Five years ago, Tony would have thrown Steve’s words back in his face, but years of reflection had mellowed him. Plus, he had also reached the same conclusion after running over a hundred simulations. 

“You gave me the phone, I didn’t call. If I did maybe we would have been together. We could have died together on that ship.” Tony’s eye drifted to the picture of the Avengers he had tucked up high on his bookshelf. His eyes were drawn to Steve and Loki, standing just close enough that someone in the know could tell they were together. “I never said how sorry I was that Loki didn’t make it. He was a good man, and he didn’t deserve to go out that way.”

Steve kept his eyes to the floor, refusing to look at his lost lover. “You didn’t need to, I knew. I often wonder what he would have thought of the way we handled the Accords. I think he would have shouted at both of us, a lot.”

Tony laughed, knowing it was true. The Demi-God and he didn’t always see eye to eye, particularly after Ultron, but Loki had always been the voice of reason. He then looked Steve straight in the eyes. “You’re going to try anyway, even after me telling you it was impossible.”

Steve met his gaze. “I have to. Now there is even the slightest chance we can set it right, bring back all those people, you know I can’t let it go, it’s not who I am.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team find more help but the results are mixed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit I'm not a huge fan of Hulk in this film for the reasons steve stated.

Steve wasn’t sure how he felt as he checked over the generators that they had requisitioned from the local military base. Nobody had questioned the request. The army or what was left of it was more concerned with maintaining order, not something that required a lot of work. The Avengers fell under the same umbrella after the desolation, so they could do as they pleased within reason. The apathy certainly didn’t fill Steve with confidence. But he hoped that they could change all that. Especially now they had more help from an old friend.

After being refused by Tony, Steve knew that they needed help more than ever. While Bruce’s primary fields of expertise were biochemistry and gamma radiation, one of his five other PhDs included nuclear physics. He was the only one who understood half the things that Tony had said. So, Steve, Natasha and Scott had gone looking for him. 

They hadn’t expected to see Bruce had become very happy with his life. It might have had something to do with the fact that he had managed to merge his two personas. He was still the intelligent man Steve had known. However, his intellect was now housed in the eight-foot body of the Hulk. 

Not only that, while the other Avengers had fallen by the wayside as far as the public was concerned, he seemed to have become as least a local celebrity. Steve couldn’t help feeling that Bruce’s change, while an achievement, hadn’t been for the better.

Still, he wasn’t going to dictate the route his friend had taken in his life, nor had he time to dwell on the loss of the Hulk as what they needed now for Bruce if they had any hope of success.

The man in question was standing next to a jerry-rigged control panel. “Okay, here we go.” 

Steve heard Bruce saying, noting the uncertainly in his voice. “Time travel test number one. Scott, fire up the uhhh... the van thing.”

Bruce pointed at the shoddy looking brown van that housed the complicated and delicate equipment needed to enter the quantum realm. Scott didn’t notice the slightly concerned look he got as he opened the rear doors, revealing the quantum tunnel that powered up in moments.

“Breakers are set, emergency generators are on standby,” Steve called as he walked back over to the test area. 

“Good,” Bruce replied, then lowered his tone slightly. “Cause if we blow the grid, I don't wanna lose tiny here in the nineteen-fifties.”

Scott’s eyes went wide at the possibility. “Excuse me?”

Natasha quickly smiled and tried to pass it off as a joke, hoping to reassure their newest teammate. “He's kidding.” To Bruce, she said. “You can't say things like that.”

“Just... It was a bad joke.” Bruce agreed, even if his eyes said that he had been doing anything but joking. Scott seemed reassured anyway.

However, Natasha knew better. Whispering, she asked. “You were kidding, right?”

In equally hushed tones, Bruce replied. “I have no idea. We're talking about time travel here. Either it's all a joke, or none of it is.”

The scientist then twisted to face Scott, his thumbs up. “We're good! Get your helmet on, Scott. I'm gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in ten seconds. Makes sense?”

“Perfectly not confusing,” Scott replied, nonchalantly waving his hand. After all, not much had made sense since he popped up in the storage unit. 

Steve couldn’t resist his urge to give a pep talk, knowing that Loki would be laughing at him for it. “Good luck, Scott. You got this.”

The speech made Scott smile proudly as if he had just got an A on a spelling bee. “You're right. I do, Captain America.”

Just as he finished, Bruce activated the vortex and Scott shrank out of sight, into the tunnel. 

The next seven seconds felt like years to Steve. his eyes were fixed on the spot where Scott has been standing. This was the first step to getting everybody back, to getting Loki back and he needed it to work.

Finally, Bruce said. “On the count of three. Three... two...one.”

Bruce flipped a switch and Ant-Man was standing in front of them again. Only it wasn’t the Scott they knew. Instead, it was someone who looked like Scott at about fourteen years old.

The was confirmed as the boy clearly knew them. “Uh, guys? This...this doesn't feel right.”

Steve, Bruce and Natasha all started talking at the same time in complete disbelief. “What is this?” “What's going on?” “That...who is that?”

Bruce began frantically flicking switches and altering dials. “Hold on.”

Natasha was more concerned that they had the right person still in front of them. “Is that Scott?”

“Yes, it's Scott.” The teenager replied indignantly.

However, he couldn’t say anything else as Bruce, having finished his tinkering of the controls, activated the tunnel again, casing Scott to vanish again. When he returned it had gotten worse.

“Ow! My back!” the now old Scott groaned, rubbing his aches.

“What is this?” Steve repeated. He was starting to feel like the cosmic forces were mocking them.

“Can I get a little space here,” Bruce said as he moved to the side of the controls where the super-soldier had been standing. 

Steve didn’t need telling twice and moved away from the controls completely so his friend could work. “Yeah, yeah. Can you bring him back?”

“I'm working on it.” Bruce snapped as he hit different switches in the vain hope that something would help. Scott vanished once more and was replaced this time by a toddler who couldn’t be more than two.

Now Steve knew that those Norns that Loki had told him about must be pissing themselves laughing at what was happening here. His voice was flat as he said. “It's a baby.”

“It's Scott.” Bruce pointed out.

“As a baby.” Steve shot back sharply.

“He'll grow.”

“Bring Scott back.” Steve ordered firmly

Bruce pointed for Natasha to head to the generators. “When I say kill the power, kill the power.”

“Oh my god.” She said as she followed his direction, clearly also feeling like this was the bad joke. 

Bruce made a few final adjustments and sent Scott once more into the tunnel before shouting “And... Kill it!”

Natasha pulled the breaker, shutting down the power. Everyone turned to look at Scott. Who, while looking very uncomfortable, was certainly very close to his original age.

“Somebody peed my pants.” Was all the poor man could say.

Natasha was relieved. “Oh, thank god.”

Scott continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “But I don't know if it was "baby" me or "old" me...Or just "me" me.”

Bruce, on the other hand, seemed very happy with the debacle that had just taken place. “Time travel!” He declared, raising his arms in triumph.

Steve could only stare at him for a moment, not sure if they had been watching the same event. He then shook his head and headed outside for some air. 

Steve stood out in the main entrance, the hope that had started to grow in his heart being squashed by the utter failure that he had just witnessed. He had never thought for a second that any of this was going to be a walk in the park. He knew that even if they had Tony on board, there would be false starts and curveballs to deal with, but even with his limited knowledge, he knew that they had got Scott back by more luck than anything else. Without the genius, he wasn’t sure if he could take that sort of risk again. Their plan could well be over before it had begun and his hand gripped the field compass in his hand.

Steve’s attention was pulled away from his thoughts as he heard the sound of a loud engine heading towards him. He looked up and frowned as a surprisingly familiar sports car sped up the compound drive. It skidded past him before it skidded to a halt and gently reversed backwards. The window rolled down and Steve rolled his eyes as he saw Tony’s slightly smug-looking face. Because he knew that Tony could read him well enough to know what had been going on.

Tony, in turn, leaned back onto the headrest and said.” Why the long face? Let me guess. He turned into a baby.”

Steve wished he could lie convincedly enough to tell the other man that everything was going great, but he couldn’t, nor would it help them if he could. 

“Among other things, yeah.” He replied with a sigh. “What are you doing here?”

Tony got out of the car and did what Tony did best. Ignore the question and throw science at his friend instead. “That's the EPR paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lang. It's tricky. Dangerous. Somebody shoulda cautioned you against it.”

The hope was starting to spring to life was more. This sarcasm was normally followed by Iron Man sweeping in to save the day one more.  
“You did.”

Tony mocked surprised. “Oh, did I? Thank God I'm here. Regardless, I fixed it.” He then held up what looked like a wristwatch with no face that was secured to the back of his hand. 

“A fully functioning time-space GPS. I just want peace. Turns out, retirement is corrosive, and I hate it.”

Steve smiled and not just at the fact that their plan may not be dead in the water after all. For the first time since Ultron eight years ago, Steve felt he had his friend back. “Me too.”

Tony knew it was time to lay down his ground rules, the emotion in his voice not being missed by Steve. “We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities: Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs. And... maybe not die trying will be nice. We do this and I will do everything I can to bring Loki back to you.”

Steve didn’t need to think about it. The last time he wanted, was for Tony to go through what he had when he lost Loki. Without hesitation, he held out his hand. “Sounds like a deal.”

Tony returned the handshake immediately, feeling, like Steve, that their relationship was back where it was meant to be. As far as he was concerned there was only one thing left to do. With a slight smiled, the billionaire walked to the truck and opened it to reveal, after shaking off Morgan’s toys, the shield Steve left behind in Siberia, repainted once more to perfection. 

This time Steve hesitated. The shield represented something more than just a weapon in battle. It was a symbol of the tension that had existed between them since the very beginning. It was also about him once more becoming Captain America, something he had walked away from five years ago, along with all the responsibilities and duties that had gone with the title. 

“Tony, I don’t know…..” He said uncertainly, half intending to refuse it.

Once again, Tony proved how well he could read his closest friend. “Why? He made it for you.” 

They both knew what Tony was talking about, the thorn is their friendship from the start. Tony quickly changed the subject. “Plus, honestly I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding.”

Tony held the shield so Steve could slide his arm through the straps. The super-soldier then let it drop to his side as he let himself become accustomed to its weight. He hadn’t realised how much he had missed having the shield until it was once more in his grasp and like with Tony, he felt like he had been reunited with an old friend. 

“Thank you, Tony.”

Tony shrugged it off. “Will you keep that a little quiet? Didn't bring one for the whole team.” He closed the trunk after grabbing his case. “We are getting the whole team, yeah?”

“We're working on that right now,” Steve replied hopefully.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor arrives

Steve had to admit their team wasn’t what he had expected it to be. Rhodey, Nebula and Rocket were fine, but he had no idea that things had gotten that bad with Clint. When Natasha brought him back, he wasn’t the man Steve remembered. The loss of his family had driven him to murder on a huge scale and while his targets had been killers themselves, it didn’t make it any better. But Natasha had vouched for him and Steve trusted that he would do whatever it took to get his family back, something the pair had in common.

The joker in the deck was Thor. After the first failed attempt to recover the stones from Thanos, the rest of the team had banded together to support each other through the loss, if only for a little time. It had created a strong bond between them, particularly for Rocket and Nebula who had lost everybody they truly cared about.

Thor, on the other hand, had isolated himself on the journey home and immediately after the ship made planet-fall, he turned on Steve. He blamed him for their failure and Loki’s death, claiming that had his brother not been so intent on returning to Earth to be with his lover, they could well have avoided Thanos and he would still live. He claimed that Steve was unworthy of the love Loki had given him. His words had dug deep into Steve’s heart which was already breaking from Loki’s death. 

Steve knew that those words were a result of Thor’s pain and the shame of his own failure. But when he showed that pain by lashing out at those closest to him, Steve could see the Thor that Loki told him about before his redemption. The selfish man that only cared for himself and blamed others for his mistakes. It took all of his self-restraint not to point all this out, instead, allowing him to vent.

After his verbal assault, Thor fled once more back to Norway. For Loki’s sake, Steve had tried to maintain contact, only to have Thor ignore him at every turn. It would have been easier to accept if he had thrown himself into his role of ruling his few remaining people. However, according to Valkyrie, he found the most isolated spot in the area and hid away, with only Korg and Meik for company. 

Steve knew that they needed him for this to work as he was the only one who had had even had the slightest contact with the reality stone. Knowing that he would be an unwelcome sight, he sent the only other people who had worked with Thor before, that meant Bruce and Rocket. He had been pleased when Bruce radioed to say they had Thor, his only comment was that the God of Thunder was a little out of shape. 

What he had failed to mention was that the man was a drunken overweight slob. Steve was surprised to see how completely the Asgardian had embraced life on earth, to the point that Rocket told him that he had confused them for cable repairmen. He arrived at the compound dressed like a hobo and wearing a pair of sunglasses. His hair and beard were now long and matted, looking as if he hadn’t washed them his weeks. He carried Stormbreaker in one hand and a keg of beer in the other. As soon as Thor saw Steve, a dark cloud appeared above the compound as his mood darkened. 

Steve wasn’t deterred. He reached out to shake his hand, hoping he had mellowed. “It’s good to see you, Thor.”

The cloud got blacker as Thor scowled at the offered hand. “I have nothing to say to you. I am here because you require my prowess to succeed and the Rabbit promised more beer.”

With that, Thor pushed passed him, greeting the rest of the team warmly and the cloud above the compound dissipated as quickly as it formed. Natasha looked at Steve, who shook his head, telling her to let it go. 

With the team gathered, work on a much bigger, more reliable version of the time tunnel from the van progressed quickly. 

Tony was taking a break from helping on the Time Tunnel to finish replicating enough of the guidance systems for the rest of the team. He looked up from his workstation to see Steve walking into his lab. 

“How’s it coming, Tony?” The super-soldier asked, running his eye over the completed guidance systems lined up in front of him.

“Just working on the rodent’s right now. There is no way to confuse that guy for something cute and cuddly.” Tony replied, remembering his comment about him being a build-a-bear. He dropped his eyes back to what he had been doing.

Steve shook his head. “I certainly wouldn’t want to piss him off, I’ve watched him fight. But we can rely on him, he got just as much riding on this as we do.”

Tony couldn’t disagree with that. Tony knew what Rocket had lost having witnessed it for himself. He knew how lucky he was not to have lost more people close to him. He looked up at Steve again, and wondered about just how calm he seemed, particularly as one member of the team was still giving him the cold shoulder.

“Lebowski is giving you a hard time. I thought you two were bosom pals seeing as you were dating his brother and all.” Tony commented. 

“He blames me for what happened to Loki. Seems fair as I blame me too. Plus blaming everyone else for the shit in his life is his forte.” Steve replied, with a slight shrug of the shoulders. “At this point, I don’t care what he thinks about me as long as he helps finish this. He has agreed to a truce at least until then.”

“You know what, Cap.” Tony said, “I expected that you would be more excited that we could well be bringing Loki back with the rest.”

Steve met his eye, then looked away. “Until I know it’s worked, I can’t let it in. Losing him the first time nearly broke me completely and it has taken all this time for me to start getting myself back together. If I let myself hope and we fail, I’m not sure I can come back from that again.”

Tony didn’t even try to come up with the quip to tease Steve. “We won’t fail, Cap. We’re both too stubborn for that.”

Steve smiled a little, hoping that Tony was right.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mission begins

It had taken a week of hard work, one botched and then one successful test run, and a ten-hour brainstorming session which resulted in a plan that could work. They had established three points in time where they had the best chance of retrieving the stones, three of which were all in New York during Amora’s attack. They split the group into three teams each tasked with collecting a stone. Steve’s was going for the mind stone, Bruce for the time. Tony and Scott were after the Tesseract, while Thor and Rocket were after the Aether. 

Nebula and Rhodey were heading to Morag to get the power stone, a place where she at least had been before. Only Natasha and Clint were going in blind, headed after the soul stone.

The plan was not without risk. Steve, Tony and Bruce were all heading to New York where crossing paths with themselves from that time was a very real threat. While it wouldn’t cause the end of the universe as some sci-fi movies suggested, it could still make achieving their goal that much harder. 

There was also the problem that if they missed their target, they had no spare Pym particles to make a second attempt. As Scott stressed over that point for the fifth time that morning, Steve quickly came to regret their first test that wasted so many at the beginning.

However, it was useless worrying about that now. All they could do was focus on the mission at hand and make sure they got it right. They all stood together, suited it up but they were all looking to Steve. Without knowing it he had once more taken over the leadership role and it was almost tradition at this point for him to make a speech when the mission was important enough to mean the difference between life and death. 

Steve looked at the nine people gathered around him in a circle at the edge of the platform that made up the time tunnel. Above was an intricate collection of mirrors which helped to focus the energy required to open the vortex. The Avengers made up with people from all across the universe, coming together for the single goal to save it. It was a responsibility not to be taken lightly. 

“Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends... We lost family... We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win.”

As Steve had been talking, Tony had begun to smile at the certainty in the Captain’s voice. He turned his head toward him, and the pair exchanged a look, both thinking about the personal reasons for them going.

Steve nodded slightly as he said. “Whatever it takes. Good luck.”

Rocket actually looked impressed with Steve’s speech. He leaned up to Scott. “He’s pretty good at that.”

Scott was bouncing like a kid in a sweet shop as, listening to a man who had been his childhood hero. “Right?”

Raring to go, Tony shouted over to Bruce who was making the final adjustments to the controls. “All right. You heard the man. Stroke those keys, jolly green.”

“Tractors engaged,” Bruce shouted back, setting the system to activate by remote. 

Clint looked at the Benatar that had been shrunk by Scott and that was holding in his hand. He glanced up to see Rocket staring at him, his arms crossed across his chest. 

“You promise to bring that back in one piece, right?” The racoon said, pointedly.

Clint looked bemused, still getting his head around the fact that he was talking to a rodent, let alone that he owned a spaceship. “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll do my best.”

Rocket didn’t seem impressed and certainly not comforted by the archer’s answer. “As promises go, that was pretty lame.” 

Bruce hurried back to the platform and set the system going. Natasha seemed excited that they were finally getting going, having spent the last five years in limbo. She smiled at she looked at Steve who smiled back at her. 

“See you in a minute.” She said, before her helmet formed over her face.

The same was happening to the rest of the group, each gearing themselves up as the mirrors rearranged themselves to their optimum positions. All eyes dropped to the floor as the Vortex formed and the Avengers vanished into the quantum realm.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rather than going back and forth as the movie did, I'm going to cover everything in new york, before heading to Asgard then back to the army base.

The New York team had arrived safely in twenty-twelve, right in the middle of the battle. Amora had just summoned the rest of the Chitaruri through the portal and the troop-carrying monsters filled the skies. 

Steve took in the scene and was happy that they would have plenty of cover. “All right, we all have our assignments. Two Stones uptown, one Stone, down. Stay low. Keep an eye on the clock.”

Just then the Hulk flew past, smashing a car into one Chitaruri before throwing it at some more. He roared and ran off to cause more damage. Steve glanced back at Bruce, who looked embarrassed of what the Hulk was like back then.

“Feel free to smash a few things along the way,” Steve suggested, not altogether helpfully.

“I think it's gratuitous, but whatever.” Bruce sighed, pulling off his vest. As he walked, he made some attempts at roars before punching lightly on an already beat up taxi and tossing a bike to one side. If he was honest, Steve found the whole show a little pathetic, but he didn’t have time to worry about Bruce’s acting ability.

Steve turned his attention back to his team. “We need to stay low and work our way over to the tower. We have to make sure we avoid being seen by our other selves; it will just make things more awkward than they need to be.”

Tony smirked but suited up. At the same time, Scott shrank and jumped on to Ironman’s shoulder. The pair took off, heading towards the tower while Steve made his way through the streets, keeping as low a profile as he could wearing the American flag.

As he passed the main battlefield where his counterpart was fighting, he realised that by this point, Natasha had jumped aboard a flyer and Loki was on the ground with him. He couldn’t stop himself creeping closer. Loki looked radiant in the heat of battle, radiant and powerful as if he truly was the god he was worshipped as.

Steve wanted to go up to him, to kiss him and warn him about everything that was to come, but his lover would likely think it would be some sort of trick by Amora, so he held himself back. His hand went to his belt where his compass was, and he promised that should they succeed; he would never let Loki go.

Nearly an hour later, Tony approached the balcony of the tower, having waited on the side a nearby building for the twenty-twelve Avengers to arrive and take Amora into custody. 

“Got to hustle, Cap. Things look like they're just about wrapped up here.” He whispered as he touched down, the nanites of his suit returning to the housing on his chest. 

“Got it. I'm approaching the elevator now.” Steve replied through his earpiece, having used the private entrance to enter the tower unseen.

Tony crept behind a feature wall and watched as Loki cast a spell on Amora to ensure she remained unconscious until he was ready to take her back to Asgard. He couldn’t help feeling a little odd watching the scene as an observer when his younger self was taking an active part in it.

Loki completed his spell and turned to the others. “She will not awaken until I wish it. She should be safe to be left with Fury’s team until I am ready to return home.”

Twenty-twelve Tony seemed more than ready to get their adversary out of his home. “All right, the stretcher should be up here soon for her.”

He turned and looked at the mess around the room, the looked at twenty-twelve Steve as he walked over to Loki. “By the way, feel free to clean up.”

As Steve walked past his hiding place, Tony couldn’t miss the effect the tight uniform had on the super-soldiers backside. The stealth suit he wore later certainly left more to the imagination. 

“Uh, Mr Rogers. I almost forgot that that suit did nothing for your ass.” He said, not really meaning it.

Tony could hear Steve blush as he replied. “No one asked you to look, Tony.”

“Although I see that didn’t stop your Rock of ages checking it out. He looks impressed.” Tony teased, seeing how Loki’s eyes had dropped to twenty-twelve Steve’s ass when no one else had been looking.

Scott, not wanting to feel left out of the conversation, decided to put his option in, making a salute as he said. “I think you look great, Cap. As far as I'm concerned, that's America's ass.”

The atmosphere in the penthouse had relaxed as the team began organising the end of mission clean up. Twenty-twelve Natasha was still holding Amora’s sceptre.

“Who gets the uhh, magic wand?” she asked, holding it up.

“STRIKE team's coming to secure it.” Twenty-twelve Steve answered from the far side of the room. 

As if he had summoned them, the private elevator opened and SHIELD’s lead operations team lead by Rumlow stepped out, followed by Sitwell who had just helicoptered in from the Heli-carrier. 

It was Sitwell that approached Natasha, holding his hand out for the sceptre. “We can take that off your hands.”

The Assassin smiled, more than happy to see the team she had worked with and trusted in the past. “By all means. Careful with that thing.”

“Unless you want your mind erased. And not in a fun way.” Barton put in, handing his best friend a glass of Tony’s very expansive scotch, to celebrate their victory.

“We promise to be careful.” The Senior agent replied as they placed the sceptre in the secure box. 

Scott got a very uncomfortable feeling from the members of STRIKE, there was something familiar about them. Not the people themselves, but the air they gave off. “Who are these guys?”

Tony shrugged as he watched the team locking up the case. “They are SHIELD...Well, actually Hydra. But we didn't know that yet.”

“Seriously, you didn't? I mean...they look like bad guys.” Scott said, realising that they were just like the men that were trying to buy the Yellow Jackets from Darren Cross.

Tony knew it wasn’t that simple because that was the type of people Hydra and SHIELD would hire for those sorts of Black Ops teams. He decided to change the subject. “You're small, but you're talking loud.”

“On my way down to coordinate search and rescue.” Twenty-twelve Steve suddenly announced, heading towards the stairs as STRIKE would be using the main elevator. Unlike the rest who had been relaxing, he was very much still on the mission. 

Everyone was surprised when Loki morphed into twenty-twelve Steve and repeated his declaration. “On my way down to coordinate search and rescue!”

The perfect imitation made everyone laugh, twenty-twelve Steve shaking his head as he did so. 

There was a look shared between them that all apart from twenty-twelve Natasha had missed, a look like they wanted to do something if they were alone. Tony saw it this time and it reminded him what his friend had suffered through at Loki’s death. The look broke after a moment and twenty-twelve Steve continued off to inspect the building.

“Cool party trick, mischief man.” Twenty-twelve Tony commented, as he finally got out of his damaged suit. “We could do with getting all this stuff off my floor.”

With that twenty-twelve, Tony picked up the Tesseract and quickly carried it over to another secure case for transport.

“All right, you're up, little buddy,” Tony said as he watched his counterpart. “There's our stone.” 

Scott was more than ready to finally make his debut as an Avenger and took position on Tony’s shoulder. “Alright. Flick me.”

Remembering Berlin, Tony was a little eager to flick Scott’s ass to send him flying across the room to land on the case innards. He leapt on to twenty-twelve Tony’s hand and ran up his arm to get a good grip on the seam on his t-shirt.

Tony, happy that is package was delivered, stayed just long enough to see the team, along with the SHIELD agents carrying Amora’s stretcher enter the private elevator, before he headed back towards the balcony, then jumped off and engaged his suit. 

He scanned the second elevator.

“All right, Cap. I got our sceptre in the elevator just passing the eightieth floor.” Tony reported.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve runs in to old 'friends' and things go amiss for Tony and Scott.

Steve was already waiting on the seventy-fifth floor, not far from the elevator doors. “On it. Head to the lobby.”

He reached out and pressed the call button, as he heard Tony reply. “Alright. I'll see you there.”

Steve waited for the car to arrive, thinking about his next move. He knew every member of STRIKE, as well as Agent Sitwell or at least, the personas they show SHIELD. They would already have their orders and wouldn’t likely be diverted without a good reason. It was at this point, he was now sure, that the sceptre would be passed over to Strucker. Part of him was glad the man would never get his hands on the mind stone, although it would mean Wanda would never get her powers along with Pietro. however knowing her as he did, he knew she would be willing to make that sacrifice if he was able to ask her. 

Steve saw the number tick down as the elevator approached and ran over his next step. He could fight, he had beaten them before, but that would draw more attention than they needed. He needed to draw on the lessons that he learnt from Fury. He knew then men in the car, but they didn’t know him other than by reputation, which was squeaky clean, and wrong, the years had shown he was capable of being anything but. The only one he had talked to had been Rumlow, and that had only been a few words as an introduction. Steve had a plan and he just hoped it was enough.

The elevator chimed as it ground to a halt and the doors opened. Everyone looked at him surprised but made way for him as he walked in, pausing only to lean over to select floor fifty. 

Sitwell looked like he didn’t know what was going on. “Captain. I thought you were coordinating search and rescue?”

“Change of plans,” Steve replied shortly, as he moved to the middle of the group.

Rumlow was standing next to him. He glanced Steve’s way and said, “Hey, Cap.”

Remembering precisely what the thug was and what he had done, it took all of Steve’s willpower to acknowledge him calmly. “Rumlow.” 

The tension in the elevator was so thick you could cut it with a knife. The scene reminded him all too well on a similar trip he took right before the fall of SHIELD, which hadn’t ended well for his fellow occupants and he suppressed a laugh at fate’s irony. It was short-lived as he spotted Rollins loosening his gun in the holster and he knew he couldn’t wait any longer.

“I just got a call from the Secretary. I'm gonna be running point on the sceptre.” He suddenly informed everyone. They all glanced towards him, putting them even more on edge as it contradicted everything they had been told. 

Sitwell turned to face Steve, clearly not happy. “Sir? I don't understand.”

Steve seemed to look around to check that there was no one but them listening, which would be hard from hundreds of feet in the air. Then he said. “We got word there may be an attempt to steal it.”

“Sorry, Cap. I can't give you the sceptre.” Rumlow put in, also turning to Steve, with a look on his face like he was daring him to try and take it.

“I’m gonna have to call the Director.” Sitwell continued, reaching into his pocket to get his phone.

“That's okay. Trust me.” Steve replied, quickly but confidently. He felt bile rise into his throat at the thought of what he was about to say but it was the only way. He leaned to Sitwell’s ear and said in a low voice, although loud enough for everyone to hear it. “Hail Hydra.”

It was the last thing any of them had expected him to say. Sitwell looked a little surprised while Rumlow had what could only be described as awe on his face. No one said or did anything as they reached the fiftieth floor. Steve calmly reached out and took the case from Rumlow’s hand who gave it up without a word. He turned around just at the elevator slowed and nodded to them in thanks. Then he walked out a small smile on his face, thinking how proud Natasha would be of him.

Tony was ready and waiting for the twenty-twelve Avengers in the lobby, now fully kitted out in a SHIELD assault uniform. As twenty-twelve Tony and Loki exited the elevator with Amora behind them, he signalled to Scott.

“Thumbelina, do you copy? I've got eyes on the prize. It's go-time.”

During his ride, Scott had managed to work his way to twenty-twelve Tony’s hairline. “Bombs away.” He said before jumping into his beard before sliding down his chest, catching the edge of the Arc Reactor.

“Is... is that Axe body spray?” He asked.

Tony wasn’t sure why it was relevant but answered, “Yeah, I had a can just for emergencies. Relax. Can we focus, please?”

“I'm going inside you. Now.” Scott said as he shrunk small enough to fit inside the Arc reactor. Tony rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to tell him to make sure he used lube. Instead, he watched as twenty-twelve Loki and Tony were stopped by a group of agents, headed by the Secretary to the World Security Council, Alexander Pierce. 

“May I ask you where you're going?” the Secretary asked, not sounding amused.

Loki looked suspicious of the newcomer. “We have fought for your realm and we now require food then rest, before I return to Asgard tomorrow. What is this to you?”

Twenty-twelve Tony could see that Loki had taken a dislike to the man, something he agreed with. He leaned over to him. “Alexander Pierce. He's the man, one of the folks behind Nick Fury.”

Pierce didn’t hide that Tony’s feelings towards him were mutual. He chose to talk to Loki instead. “My friends call me Mr Secretary. I'm gonna have to ask you to turn that prisoner over to me.” 

Loki raised his eyebrows, not believing that this man understood what they were dealing with. “Amora cannot be held on this realm, she is too powerful. She has also done more damage than just here on Earth. I assure you she will answer for her crimes. She will spend her days in one of Asgard’s cells after she frees my father from her enchantment.”

“She can’t be that dangerous without her army or spear. So, she's gonna answer to us. Asgard can have what's left, I'm sure there is something someone else can do for Odin, was it. And I'm gonna need that case, that's been SHIELD property for over seventy years” Pierce’s eyes dropped to the case holding the Tesseract, which was his goal all along.

Tony could remember this argument and watched as another agent reached to his twenty-twelve counterpart saying. “Hand over the case, Stark.” 

This situation had gotten a little hairy after that, with Maria Hill’s timely arrival to escort the Avengers to their accommodation with the case and Amora, having prevented Pierce getting to experience Loki’s magic first hand. In hindsight, Tony wished he had let him. it might have made things easier for Steve in the future or maybe worse, there was no way of knowing. All he could do was focus on now. Now meaning, they had to get the case before Hill arrived. 

Loki was trying to keep his cool as he replied. “I think not. It belongs to no one. Asgard had been its guardian for ten thousand years before it was placed on this realm for safety. As SHIELD’s attempts to make it a weapon have proved it is no longer safe, it shall return with me.”

Tony turned away so he could talk to Scott. “All right, move it, Stuart Little. Things are getting dicey up here. Let's go.”

“I'm not gonna argue who's got the higher authority here, all right?” Twenty-twelve Tony interjected, once more pushing away the agent grabbing the case.

“You promise me you won't die?” Scott replied, sounding very uncertain.

Tony tried not to sound frustrated as he explained for the umpteenth time. “You're only giving me a mild cardiac dysrhythmia.”

“That doesn't sound mild.”

Pierce was also getting frustrated. “I need the case.” 

“I know you got a lotta pull. I'm just saying...” Twenty-twelve Tony said, putting his body between the Secretary and the case.

“Okay. Then give me the case.” Pierce repeated. Suddenly, the other agents surrounded twenty-twelve Tony, and at least one wrapped his hand around his wrist. 

“Do it, Lang!” Tony hissed as he knew that Hill would be there in less than a minute. 

“Get your hands off!” Twenty-twelve Tony shouted as a glow was beginning to surround Loki’s hand, suggesting he was readying his magic.

Tony glanced out the window and saw Hill’s SUV pull up. “Window's closing. Pull my pin.”

“Here goes!” Twenty-twelve Tony was suddenly struggling to breathe and he dropped the case. Tony had had similar experiences and felt sorry that he had to put his younger self through it. He watched as his counterpart fell to the ground, knocking the case away from the gathered group. 

Pierce looked concerned, knowing that it wouldn’t go down well if his actions killed one of the saviours of New York as the Avengers were already being called. “Look, he's convulsing. Give him air! Medic!”

“MEDIC! You guys, some help!” Tony shouted, his eyes never leaving the case.

By this time Scott had fixed what he had done, meaning that the reactor would return to normal function in a few moments. He quickly got out of twenty-twelve Tony’s chest and headed for the case. As all eyes were on the injured man, no one noticed the case fly across the floor after a well-timed kick provided by Ant-man. 

The case slid to a halt just past Tony, who snatched it up just as Maria Hill was entering the lobby. Luckily her attention was fixed on the crowd surrounding twenty-twelve Tony and she hardly noticed one more agent. 

“Good job,” Tony said, quickly heading away from the lobby. “Meet me in the alley. I'm gonna grab a quick slice.”

At the worst possible time, the angry Hulk smashed through the door from the stairwell, having walked down over a hundred floors. “NO MORE STAIRS!!!!” He roared before deciding to take his frustration out in the already ruined New York streets.

Tony was hit as the door was flung open, knocking him on to his back and winding him. The case hit the ground and burst open. The Tesseract slid across the room and hit Amora’s hand that had been hanging off the gurney, where her guards had dumped her to tend to twenty-twelve Tony. It released a small jolt of energy that woke her from the coma Loki had put her under. 

She opened her eyes and looked around, seeing the confusion that surrounded twenty-twelve Tony, who was just starting to recover after Loki attempted to restart the reactor using his magic. Then she looked down and saw the Tesseract. A plan forming in a moment, she reached down, grabbed it and vanished through a portal to god knows where.  
Tony managed to look up as she disappeared and knew they had lost. 

“That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?” Scott asked rhetorically, jumping on Tony’s chest.

“Oh, we blew it,” Tony said, needlessly. 

All he could do was get to his feet and get away before he was spotted. The last thing he heard in the Lobby was Loki blaming Pierce, claiming that his interference cost them Amora and the Tesseract.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doppelganger Steve and the plan goes improv.

Steve was concerned. From what he had been told of the situation in the Lobby, the other team should have the case by now. But he had no way of knowing what was going on as his communicator had stopped working. He had made his way down to the fourteenth floor all the while still trying to raise his teammates.

“Tony, what's going on? Tell me you found that cube.” Steve, knowing the tower as he did, hadn’t been looking where he was walking but suddenly the way in front of him had his full attention. He was starting to feel the mission was going to hell fast. “Oh, you gotta be shitting me."

Standing in front of him blocking his path, was his twenty-twelve counterpart, doing what he was meant to be doing and sweeping the building. To say it was disconcerting looking into your own eyes like this was as an understatement. He also looked very serious making Steve wonder if Tony hadn’t been right all those years about him having a stick in his ass.

Twenty-twelve Steve had his eyes fixed on him. Slowly he raised his hand to his communicator, having just had the report of Amora’s escape. “I have eyes on Amora. fourteenth floor.”

“I am not Amora. And I don't wanna hurt you.” Steve said, lowering the case to get ready to fight. Because he knew that whatever he said wasn’t going to be believed.

“I might believe you if I hadn’t seen Loki just pull the same trick.” Twenty-twelve Steve said right before he launched himself at Steve, giving him only a split second to raise his shield to deflect the blow from his counterpart’s before they exchanged blows for a second time. 

The pair both attempted a spin kick, but twenty-twelve Steve clearly read his tells and quickly kicked him square in the chest. Steve went flying back and landed hard, forcing to take a moment to recover.

“I can do this all day.” Twenty-twelve Steve said, panting a little.

“Yeah, I know. I know.” Steve replied as he got back on to feet. He decided that if he got out of this situation, he was never saying that again.

As soon as he was up, he flung his shield as hard as he could at twenty-twelve Steve, just to have him do the same. The Shields collided in mid-air and both dropped on the ground floor below them. Without their weapon of choice, the Steves had to resort to hand-to-hand combat. The problem being that each knew the other fighting style and tells. This meant every move was blocked and countered, which was in turn blocked and countered. Occasionally one would land a blow, and Steve took full advantage after his counterpart landed a hit to grab him around the waist and hoisting him over his shoulder and smashing him into the walkway.  
Unfortunately, it meant the twenty-twelve Steve was able to get a grip on to the back of Steve’s uniform. Steve managed to get a similar grip, restricting them to only using their legs. 

A wayward kick resulted in the case smashing through the glass of the walkway, falling to the floor below and spilling the sceptre out on to the floor. Steve knew he couldn’t leave it down there for someone else to find. He tried to break free by tripping up twenty-twelve Steve, only to find him falling over the edge and Steve being dragged along with him. The pair impacted the glass ceiling on the eighth floor only to shatter it. It altered their trajectory and they rolled down the stairs between floors seven and five, before missing the next edge and falling again though the stairwell to land with a thump on the ground floor. Both were grateful for their advanced healing that was already kicking it to take care of the many bruises that the multiple impacts had created.

During the fall, Steve’s compass had fallen from his pocket and was lying open in front of twenty-twelve Steve who was staring at the picture of Loki. Twenty-twelve Steve still hadn’t had claimed all his effects from the Hydra ship, the compass was one of them and he knew the picture of Loki should be behind Peggy’s. He reached out and picked it up as they both got unsteadily to their feet.

"Where did you get this?” Twenty-twelve Steve demanded, sounding very upset.

Steve couldn’t say anything, knowing that he would be just as upset. He reached for the sceptre, but twenty-twelve Steve got his foot on it. Twenty-twelve Steve then took advantage of his counterpart being off-balance, by grabbing his arm and wrapping his other arm around his neck, getting him into a chokehold. The momentum carried them both to the floor. They rolled as Steve tried again to reach for the sceptre, but he was being held by a man whose strength matched his own. As he tried to get enough air to stay awake, he knew there was only one thing that could give him the edge.

“Bucky... is... alive!” He said his voice straining as he spoke.

The statement had the desired effect and twenty-twelve Steve pulled away looking completely shocked. “What?” 

Steve only had a moment to recover his breath before he grabbed for the Sceptre and touched it to twenty-twelve Steve’s chest, knocking him out cold. Slowly, he got to his feet, picking up the compass as he went.

He paused to look down at his counterpart’s unconscious body. He couldn’t resist checking out his rear, given he had never seen it properly and everyone always went on about it.

“That is America’s ass, no wonder Loki liked touching it.”

Aware that he still had no idea if Tony and Scott were successful, he checked to make sure there was no one else around and headed towards the exit and the rendezvous point. 

Without the distraction of an alien invasion and SHIELD being on high alert from the loss of not one but two powerful artefacts, it had taken Steve a lot longer to get back to the alley than he hoped, making his way through damaged buildings and across fire escapes. Still, he made it without being seen and still holding the sceptre. He knew the plan was to meet there if there had been a problem so if he found it empty by nightfall, he would assume that the other two had retrieved their stone successfully and he would leave himself.

His heart fell when just as he jumped down into the alley from the building above and he heard Tony call his name. He turned around and saw him and Scott hiding in a totalled car.

“Sorry, buddy. We got a problem.” Tony said, looking dejected with his arm leaning on the trim of the window. 

Scott was sat in the back clearly sulking. “Huh. Yeah, we do.”

Tony and Scott brought Steve up to speed with the events in the lobby leading to the loss of the space stone with Amora. The super-soldier didn’t know what to say. He didn’t blame the two men, as there wasn’t anything he could think that he would have done differently, but he also had no clue what to do next.

“Well, what are we gonna do now?” He asked, hoping that Tony had come up with something while he had waiting.

Tony, of course, knew that Steve was hoping that he would magic up a Hail Mary plan, but like Cap, he had nothing. “You know what? Give me a break, Steve. I just got hit in the head with a Hulk.”

Scott was out of the car by this time. He spent a lot of time thinking about Hope while sitting in the car and had worked himself up to boiling point. “You said that we had one shot. This, this was our shot. We shot it. It's shot. Six stones or nothing. Six stones or nothing.”

It had been the fourth time in the last hour that he had heard this speech and it was starting to get on Tony’s nerves. “You're repeating yourself, you know that? You're repeating yourself.”

“You're repeating yourself. You're repeating yourself.” Scott shot back at him, sounding like a three-year-old.

The pair were bickering now and Steve could tell it was getting them nowhere. 

“You never wanted a time-heist, you weren't on board with the time-heist...”. Scott said accusingly as if Tony had lost the stone on purpose.

“I dropped the ball,” Tony admitted.

“You ruined the time-heist.”

“Is that what I did?”

“Yeah!”

Steve knew that there was still some tension between these two and decided to cut the back and forth short before it became personal and even physical.

“Are there any other options with the Tesseract?” He asked hoping to bring Scott’s attention to him. 

“No, no, no. There are no other options.” Scott sneered as he slammed the car door shut in frustration. “There are no do-overs. We're not going anywhere else. We have one particle left. Each. That's it, alright? We use that... Bye, bye. You're not going home.”

Even Steve was getting frustrated with Scott’s negative attitude. After all, repeating the same thing over and over wasn’t going to fix their problem.  
“Yeah, well if we don't try, then no one else is going home, either.”

The exchange seemed to have hit Tony with the Hail Mary thought Steve had been hoping for. 

“I got it.” He said jumping up from the car, his attention on Steve. "There's another way. To retake the Tesseract and acquire new particles. We'll stroll down memory lane. Military installation, Garden State.”

Tony didn’t need to tell Steve his plan. The mention of their proposed location was enough to tell him what he wanted them to go and where they had to go. “When were they both there?” 

Tony looked a little uncertain on that question. “They were there at a...I've a vaguely exact idea.”

Steve knew that Tony’s vague guesses were right ninety-five percent of the time but they couldn’t take a chance even at those odds. “How vague?”

Scott could tell that he was no longer part of the discussion. It was something Bruce warned him happened, particularly when they were talking about something that linked them before the Avengers began. Still, he wanted to know what they were talking about.

“What are you talking about? Where are we going?”

As he thought, Scott had been long forgotten as Tony was still focusing on answering Steve’s previous question. “I know for a fact they were there...”

“Who's they? What are we doing?” Scott tried again. 

“And I know how I know.” Tony finished, giving Steve a look suggesting that it was more than just a familiar place they were visiting but maybe some people too.

Steve look about him, weighing up the risks of what Tony was proposing, even though it was likely their only chance.

Scott was really lost now. “Guys, what's up? What is it?”

“Well, it looks like we're improvising,” Steve said, his mind made up.

“Right,” Scott replied, happy that they were talking to him but still not sure what was going on. “What are we improvising?”

Steve quickly came up with a plan. He handed the sceptre to Ant-man. “Scott, get this back to the compound.”

“Suit up,” Tony said, ready to go.

“ What's in New Jersey?” Scott asked seeing that they were back to ignoring him again. 

“zero-four, zero-four... –“. Tony began listing coordinates. “Uhh, zero-seven.”

Steve repeated back, making sure he had heard them right. “zero-seven.”  
“One-nine-seven-zero.” 

Steve paused at the year. “Are you sure?” 

Scott was all the while still trying to get Steve’s attention again. “Cap. Captain. Steve,”. The other two looked at him, making him rethink being so informal. “sorry, America. Rogers. Look, if you do this, and this doesn't work, you're not coming back.”

“Thanks for the pep talk, pissant,” Tony said, unable to hide the nervousness in his voice. Still, he looked at Steve and asked. “Do you trust me?”

It has been the question that had been hanging over them since almost the beginning of their friendship ten years ago. There was only one answer “I do.”

This seemed to bolster his confidence and Tony said. “Your call”

“Here we go.”

And before Scott could do anything to stop them, they hit their GPS’s and vanished. It left him little to do, but make his own return trip back to the compound and hope he hadn’t just seen the last of Captain America and Iron Man.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor and Rocket arrive on Asgard

Thor and Rocket had materialised on Asgard in the dungeon. The racoon wasn’t best pleased with being paired with the God of Thunder, but Thor had refused to work with anyone else. It would have been fine if he had been as he was when they went to Nidavellir, but unfortunately, Thor was still drunk and had refused to change into something more fitting for Asgard, meaning that he stuck out like a sore thumb. Still, there was nothing he could do about it and they needed the Aether.

As they made their way past the cells, Thor suddenly stopped and looked into one of the cells. Luckily, they had stopped in the shadows and couldn’t be seen from the cell. Rocket, unsure of what was going on looked as well and recognised one of the fighters from the battle of Wakanda, that guy that Cap had been crying over. Rocket hadn’t cared to ask who the man had been at the time, while he was sure a name had been mentioned more than once, it didn't mean enough to him to make him remember. The man was pacing the small cell, clearly unhappy about being confined. Rocket frowned at Thor, who seemed to guess his question.

“That is Loki, my brother.” He said, tears welling up in his already blood-shot eye. 

Rocket was very confused. “If you’re the King, why is your brother locked up down here?”

The tears fell slowly. “Because I was a fool and blinded by my jealousy. He was the one best suited to be King, father knew it, mother knew it, I knew it. I hated him because he could do what I could not and when he brought Jane here for help, I imprisoned him. I failed him as I did so many times before and after.”

Rocket sighed. They didn’t have time for this. “You were a rotten big brother, not the first, not the last. But we haven’t got time for the pity party you’re on. We got to find the Terran girl”

He held up the extractor to make his point. Thor looked at it before he began to wander towards the main stairs behind them. 

“I'll be right back, okay?” He said as he walked towards the stairs quickly. “There's a wine cellar, just above the cells. My father used to have this huge barrel of ale. I'll see if the cellar has a couple of...”

They had reached the main corridor by the time Rocket was able to get close enough to grab Thor’s arm to stop him.

“Hey! Hey! Aren't you drunk enough already?”

The pair suddenly heard a sound of footsteps and hid behind one of the ornate pillars. Seconds later, Jane and Fandral walked past, the warrior escorting her to her chambers. Thor remembered that he had just failed to seduce her and felt his shame growing as he was forced to face the man he was. 

They watched as Fandral kissed Jane’s hand tenderly, which made her smile. She returned the gesture with a kiss on his cheek before slipping into her room, leaving Fandral to head to the training ground with a spring in his step. Thor suddenly realised that he had denied his friend the chance to be with someone he clearly truly cared for, all out of spite for him preferring Loki to him with good reason. Yet another example of his flawed character.

Rocket stepped into the corridor. “All right. Here's the deal, Tubby: You're gonna keep her distracted and I'm gonna poke her with this thing, and extract the reality stone and we get gone, lickety-split.”

The racoon held up the extractor to make his point. Thor’s eyes hadn’t left the door of Jane’s room. “She will hardly let me in, she hates me.”

Rocket was just about to ask if he had a better idea when a different door opened, and more footsteps could be heard. Another group of women walked through the corridor of the other side of the courtyard, led by Frigga. Thor watched as the mother whom he had disappointed time and again, walked away from him in the direction of her gardens.

Rocket jumped up onto a sculpture next to Thor to get a better look. “Who's the fancy broad?”

“It's my mother,” Thor replied absently. “She dies tomorrow.” 

“Oh. That's tomorrow?” Even Rocket couldn’t help but feel sympatric towards his teammate, remembering how broken up he had been in the pod.

The sound of another door closing pulled Thor back into their present situation. He began to breathe rapidly as he said. “I can't do this. I can't do this. I shouldn't be here. I should never have come. This was a bad idea.”

“Come here.” Rocket said calmly.

“No, no, no.” Thor continued. “I think I'm having...I'm having a panic attack. I shouldn't be here...this is...this is a bad”

“Come here. Right here.” Rocket pointed to the floor in front of him. As soon as he was close enough, he slapped Thor as hard as he could across the face. “You think you're the only one who lost people? What do you think we're doing here? I lost the only family I ever had. Quill, Groot, Drax, the chick with the antenna, all gone. Now, I get you miss your mom. But she's gone. Really gone. And there are plenty of people who are only kinda gone. But you can help them. So, is it too much to ask that you brush the crumbs outta your beard, try talking to the girl in there, and when she's not looking, suck out the Infinity Stone and help me get my family back? Help yourself get your brother back?”

Thor said, ducking his head to avoid eye contact. “Okay.”

“Are you crying?” Rocket asked.

“No” Thor replied, his head still down. Then after a moment, he relented “Yes! I feel unworthy, useless.”

“Get it together. You can do this. You can do this. All right?” Rocket repeated trying to boost Thor’s ego enough to get the job done.

“Yes, I can,” Thor said, suddenly feeling determined.

“Good.” Rocket jumped down from the sculpture, returning his attention to Jane’s room.

“I can do this. I can do it” Thor repeated. Then as suddenly as it came, Thor’s confidence deserted him. “I can't do this.”

Thor spun on the spot and hurried away from his comrade, who hadn’t realised what had happened.

“Alright, Your Majesty, She’s alone. This is our shot.” Rocket turned to check that Thor was ready to just see the god of Thunder vanish around the corner and out of sight. “Thor? Thor!”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor finally starts to make peace with his past

Thor watched his mother with her ladies making their way towards her gardens, which was her retreat from the twenty-thirteen version of himself. He knew that his other self would be off somewhere sulking at his failure to control Loki or woo Jane, completely oblivious to what was to come.

Thor was so lost in his own self-pity that he nearly missed Frigga pausing for a moment. Calmly she turned to her companions and said. “Ladies, I will see you after.”

Her ladies were used to the queen dismissing them for reasons that did not become apparent until much later and took their leave. Once they out of earshot, Frigga turned and began to walk towards the pillar Thor was hiding against. He quickly pulled back expecting her to pass by. When she didn’t, he leaned out again to find the corridor was empty.

“Spying on me does not become you, my King,” Frigga said from behind him, making him jump. 

Thor found it difficult to look his mother in the eye, knowing that they would be filled with disappointment. Their relationship had been strained since Amora’s attempted coup. A situation that had been entirely of his own making. After all, she had tried many times in the two years before to heal the breach in her family and Loki had tried for her sake, Thor had refused over and over until finally, she turned from him.

“Forgive me, Mother, I did not intend to intrude. I will leave you.” Thor stuttered, trying to hide anything that might have given him away, which was everything about him. He backed away slightly, trying to keep distance between them.

Frigga frowned at Thor’s apology. It was something she had not heard from him in many years and certainly not expected now, given that their last conversation involved thwarting his attempt to remove Dr Foster from Asgard. She ran her eyes over him, and he seemed to have changed completely in a few hours. His hair had grown longer in the space of an hour and matted, while his clothes were like nothing she had ever seen before. He also seemed to have gained weight, now resembling Volstagg.

“Thor, your clothes are not your normal apparel, nor have they been cleaned. Even you could not have upset the maids that much.”  
Frigga asked, trying to probe without giving away that she knew something was off.

Thor made a show of looking at the cardigan that he wore over his hoodie. “This? I wore this many a time, and I do not trust the maid with my favourite clothes.”

By then, Frigga had got close enough to look him properly in the eyes, trying to glean some truth from them. She immediately noticed the discolouration in his left eye, again something that had not been there this morning. Add to that the look of shame that was written over his face and her walls broken and she raised her hand to his cheek, a motherly act she hadn’t done in too long.

“What’s wrong with your eye?” She asked, clearly concerned for her son.

Thor looked down, hoping to draw attention away from the replacement eyeball. “Oh, my eye. That's... you remember the Battle of Haroquin? When I got hit in the face with a broadsword?”

The queen remembered the battle well, including that he had had no such injury. The truth began to fall into place and she once more pushed the hair from his face so she could look at how her son had grown. 

“You're not the Thor I know at all, are you?”

Thor tried not to panic. “Yes, I am.”

Frigga ignored his denial, saying. “The future hasn't been kind to you, has it?”

“I didn't say I'm from the future,” Thor said, knowing that he had already lost.

“I was raised by witches, boy.” His mother chastised him gently. “I see with more than eyes, and you know that.”

Everything finally became too much for him and the tears fell once more. “I am from the future! Please forgive me, forgive me.”

Frigga continued to stroke his hair soothingly as she had done when he was a child. “Hush, my son, Hush.”

“I really need to talk to you,” Thor whispered.

“We can talk.” She replied, pulling him into her arms, the single act healing their bond, mother and son together once more.

Frigga led Thor through secret passages that led to her private room. There, they spent the night talking. Thor told her of everything that had happened since banishing Loki to Earth, leaving none of his conduct out. He told her of the end of Asgard, Thanos’ attack, the forging of Stormbreaker, the final battle in Wakanda and Loki’s death. 

At the news that her youngest son had died meaninglessly brought tears to Frigga’s eyes and the pair held each other in the grief. Afterwards, Thor continued with his tale, until he finally reached Thanos’ death at his hand. By this time, he was sitting on her bed, while she was standing close to the window. 

“His head was over there... His body over there.” Thor explained, indicating with his head as if he was could see the titan laying on the floor in front on him. “What was the point? I was too late. I was just standing there. Some idiot with an axe.” 

“You're no idiot,” Frigga said walking towards, never truly believing she would ever be saying those words to him. “You're here, aren't you? Seeking counsel from the wisest person in Asgard. Well one of them, I believe your brother may well rival me soon if he does not already.”

Thor scoffed. “He was not as wise as you think, Mother. If he were, he would not have given his heart to such as unworthy man.”

Frigga saw him slipping back into his arrogance and frowned at him. “And who are you to measure his worth? Loki told me of his lover, Heimdall too and he is brave, with a noble heart and he loves your brother with all that he has. I believe that his worth is for Loki to decide not you.”

Thor had the decency to look uncomfortable. “See. An idiot with an axe as I said.”

His mother’s face softened a little at his verbal self-flagellation. “Idiot? No. A failure? Absolutely.”

“That's a little bit harsh,” Thor replied, keeping his eyes to the ground or she might have seen that in his heart, he agreed with her.

Frigga continued as if she hadn’t heard him. She sat down on the bed next to him as she said. “You do know what that makes you? Just like everyone else.”

“I'm not supposed to be like everyone else, am I?” Thor replied, sounding defeated as if her words we proof of his failures and lack of worth.

“Everyone fails at who they are supposed to be, Thor. The measure of a person, of a hero, is how well they succeed at being who they are.” 

“But how do I know who that is? I am nothing, unworthy. A drunk fool on a fool’s errand.” Thor shot forward to the window. The city below him as alive with people but all he could see was Hela’s army and Surtur standing over them, his sword crashing through buildings. 

Frigga could see he needed more than just words, if he was ever going to become the good man, she knew was inside him. She followed him to the window. 

“Call for your hammer!” Thor looked at her in confusion, so she repeated. “Call it.”

Thor, trusting his mother, reached out his hand and a moment later, Mjolnir flew through the window to his hand as if he hadn’t missed it for the past five years.  
Frigga nodded and took it from him.

“Do you remember the spells your father had worked into the metal before it was cast?” Thor shook his head, having never really listened as a child. “Your father knew what this hammer could do in the wrong hands, so if he wished it, the hammer had the ability to judge the wielder’s heart and mind to prove that he was worthy of the power it possesses.”

Frigga then brought the Hammer to her lips and whispered on the metal. “Whosoever holds of this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.”

The raised symbol of knot appeared on the side of the hammer’s head and it sudden dropped from Frigga’s hand, as it was too heavy for her to hold, landing with bang.  
Just then, Rocket burst thought the door, holding the extractor triumphantly in the air. 

“Thor! I got it!” He slid to halt when he saw the pair together. “Hey. You must be mom. I got the thing. Come on, we got to move.”

He was closely followed by one of the palace guards. “Get that rabbit!.” He stopped short as he saw the King was in conference with the Queen, something had never happened ever.

“Forgive me, my King, my Queen, I will remove the vermin and return to my duties.” The guard said making towards Rocket.

“Hold.” The Queen said quickly, hold up her hand to stop him. “This creature is wanted here. I do, however, have a task for you. Pick up Mjolnir with all your might.”

The guard looked surprised. The King never allowed any to touch the hammer. He looked to Thor, who nodded, wondering what his mother was up to. The guard approached the hammer and reached down, grabbing the handle and pulled. It didn’t move no matter how hard he stained.

Frigga again raised her hand. “Enough. You may leave and tell no one what has happened here today.” 

The guard looked as confused as ever but bowed Frigga and Thor before leaving. Frigga looked back at her son. “Now you try and be quick, Thor will likely be here any moment to blame me or Loki for the loss of his hammer.” 

Thor was convinced that it wouldn’t move, that he was not worthy enough to wield the hammer now. Like the guard, he grabbed the handle and pulled. The hammer rose into the air as of it was made of candy floss. 

“I am worthy.” He said, bouncing a little like a puppy.

Rocket got a little tired of waiting around. “Come on. We gotta go.”

Thor realised that he was nearly out of time and dropping the hammer, took his mother’s hand. “Mother, I have to tell you something.”

Frigga wasn’t stupid, she could tell by the way her son had talked that she was going to die and by the look on his face it was sometime soon. But she was wise enough to know that what would happen was meant to be. 

“No, son. You don't. You're here to repair your future, not mine.”

“But this is about your future.” Thor insisted, confirming her opinion. 

“It's none of my business.” She said firmly.

Thor remembered what tone meant, even if he had ignored her for too many years before. He was grateful that he was finally able to reconcile with his mother but hated that he had to leave so soon. “I wish we had more time.”

Frigga took his hands in hers. “No, this was a gift. I know you are my son once more and you're going to be the man you're meant to be, which is far more than the man that rules this realm as we speak. I am content.”

“I love you, mother.”

“I love you.” 

She answered taking him into her arms. Then she pulled back, and her eyes dropped to his potbelly. “And maybe a little less ale.”

Thor picked up the hammer again and took his place next to Rocket. “Goodbye, mother.”

Rocket seeing that Thor wasn’t going to leave without a push, activated both suits “Three... two...”

“Goodbye.” Frigga whispered as the suits activated and both vanished in the quantum realm. Once they were gone, she stepped out on to the balcony and looked out over the city that would soon be gone forever. She prayed to the Norns that her son and his friends were successful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was never fond of the more informal way Thor talked after Ragnarok so I have adjusted it, as well as Frigga's so it was closer to Dark world. Also, I'm not sure if Fragga has the same power over the hammer that Odin did, but I am not giving up that moment from the final battle


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While going after the Tesseract, Tony isn't the only one who meets a shadow from his past.

As Steve walked through the camp, memories of his basic training came flooding back, especially when he spied soldiers training on the training ground, the drill Sargent sounding more than a little familiar. Tony’s plan to bring them back to Camp LeHigh, New Jersey, had hit the target. It was the place he was chosen to become Captain America and where he had met Peggy Carter for the first time. Of course, thirty years later, it was the main base of operations for SHIELD, before they relocated to DC.

Steve was glad to see it as a working camp once more. The last time he had been here was right after he discovered the truth of the Hydra infiltration. The camp had been bombed in an attempt to get kill of him and Natasha, leaving a few bitter memories behind. Of course, the number of people there was both a blessing and a curse. They had every opportunity to disguise themselves and move freely, but there was also the chance of someone recognising Steve. After his face was plastered over the training rooms as an example to live up to. 

In an attempt to hide his identity, Steve had grabbed a set of plain fatigues from a private’s locker while Tony had found a spare suit and lab cost in one of the offices. All they could do was hope it was enough.

Tony had laughed when they saw the sign at the Camp’s main gate, claiming to be the birthplace of Captain America, even though Steve had been born in Brooklyn, as well as being where the actual procedure had taken place. 

“Clearly, you weren't actually born here, right?” Tony asked, knowing the truth.

“The idea of me was,” Steve replied, hiding his face as they passed another group of soldiers. 

Tony, not getting the rise he wanted, decided to move on to the more pressing matter. Steve had been decisive on where he was heading, leading the way towards the centre of the base which made Tony curious as to what he knew. Of course, being Tony, he wouldn’t ask him outright.

“Right. Well, imagine you're SHIELD, running a quasi-fascistic intelligence organization. Where do you hide it?”

“In plain sight,” Steve said, stopping to look at a large concrete bunker. The last time he had seen it, he had been carrying Natasha to safety before they brought down SHIELD. Tony did a quick scan which confirmed what Steve had told him. Satisfied, they headed over to make their entrance.

Steve had thought that getting his hands on the extra Pym particles would have been hard, but one phone call had been all it took to get Dr Pym out of the lab and less than five minutes to find the particles and leave. 

Steve’s problem was that while they had been going down in the lift, he and Tony had attracted the attention of their travelling companion. The woman had gone straight to the camp security. And just as he exited the lab, they appeared at the end of the corridor, blocking his route back to the elevator and was heading straight for him.

Steve did the only thing he could think of and that was to practically dive into the nearest dark office. He waited to make sure they had passed him before he scanned the room to look for an alternative exit. His eyes fell on the desk where he spotted something, he hadn’t seen on over eighty years.

In a frame and pride of place was the photo on him, taken during basic training which he knew had been in his personnel file. He picked it up to check that he wasn’t seeing things as the only light was from the corridor. He wasn’t and he knew that only one person would choose that photo of him, skinny and short, as opposed to his post serum press shots. Steve turned around to see that the name painted on the door was Margaret Carter, Director. Of all the offices he could have walked into, he had found Peggy’s.

A noise from the office next door drew his attention and thought the partly blinded window, Steve saw the woman herself walk in, clearly deep in discussion with one of her subordinates. He walked closer to the window, glad that the light from the office met that she couldn’t see him. 

It was strange, there was nothing in her face that suggested that she was close to fifty, although her hair was starting to grey. It was the only hint of the ninety-five-year-old woman he had said goodbye to all those years ago. 

Steve watched Peggy for a moment, happy to see her looking so well. It had been hard visiting her when she was in the later stages of her illness and he was glad that he had a good final memory of one of his dearest friends. Peggy moved out of his view, which brought him back to the present and he knew he needed to get moving.

Steve headed back to the door he came in but just as he put his hand on the handle, he could see a group of dark green uniforms standing right outside. He had to wait for them to move on and every second was agonizing. His luck went from bad to worse because as the shadows of the soldiers moved away from the door, the office light switched on.

“What the hell are you doing in my office?” Peggy’s voice rang out. 

Steve didn’t know what to do. Keeping his back to her, he said in an attempt of a Texan accent. “I’m sorry, ma’am, wrong room.” 

He guessed that she didn’t buy it as the next thing he heard was a gun being cocked.

“You’re not fooling anyone with that accent.” Steve recognised the click of a phone receiver being picked up. “Security, my offi……..”

Steve spun around. “Peggy, wait.”

Peggy was standing as he thought, a small handgun pointed at him. her face had gone white as his own came into view. Steve could hear the voice at the other end of the line asking her to repeat her request. '

“Never mind,” Peggy replied absently to the disembodied voice before she returned the receiver to its cradle. The gun, however, stayed firmly in her hand. “Steve?”

“Yeah, it’s me.” Was all Steve could say, reaching up and pulling off his cap.

“Steve Rogers died, defending his country and saving thousands of lives. Who are you and how do you look like him?” Peggy said through gritted teeth, if it was possible, point her gun at him even harder.

Steve tried to rack his brain for something that would convince her that he was telling the truth. “You kissed me, while I was stood in the back off a car, getting ready to jump on to a moving plane. After Phillips told me he wasn’t going to kiss me. We didn’t say goodbye as I crashed the plane.”

Peggy gasped and her grip on the gun lessened as she set it down on the desk. Slowly she walked forward. “Only Chester knew that, and he would never have told a soul. Steve, how? Where have you been?”

Steve relaxed now the gun was not pointed at him. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you. You need to forget you saw me.” 

Steve turned to leave again but felt Peggy’s hand grab his arm and pull him back. “No, you don’t Rogers. You have let me believe you’ve been dead for 30 years. You don’t get out of an explanation by telling me to forget.”

“If I tell you, it could change everything. I can’t risk it.” Steve replied.  
“So, after everything we went through, you won’t trust me, Steve. I know I wasn’t as close to you as Bucky and Lorcan but I thought we shared something.” 

Steve closed his eyes and sighed. He did trust her. “I’m from the future. The me from now is still out there somewhere frozen. Don’t try to find me, I’m where I need to be because the world needs me most when they do find me.”

Peggy narrowed her eyes, not quite believing him. “We’ve had science teams trying to use the Tesseract to power time travel, among other things. I’ve been told it's impossible.”

“Wrong Stone,” Steve said without thinking. 

Seeing her eyes go wide, he quickly continued. “Never mind. It’s possible but not using the tesseract. I travelled thought the quantum realm.”

“You sound like Hank Pym. Ok, I believe you. After all, it’s too fantastic to not be true. Why here, why now?” Peggy asked. 

“I can’t tell you, but it’s important. It’s not just about the US or Earth but the whole Universe.” Steve reached out and rested his hand over hers. “Peggy, I wish I could tell you. We will meet again and when we do you will understand.”

“Because you can’t know that you came back here either. Guess that’s when I’ll know if this was real. It is good to see you again, Steve.” Peggy touched Steve’s cheek, her voice was soft as she spoke and leaned in to kiss him. Steve pulled away slightly and Peggy got the message. 

“We’re thirty years too late. I understand. Are you happy? Have you found someone?”

Steve hated seeing the heartbreak in her eyes. He still loved her, some part of him always would but his heart and soul belonged to one person. He decided not to burden her with knowing what happened to Loki, preferring to leave her with a happy image of him when they also met again. “I have. You will like him.”

Peggy smiled knowingly. “And here was I thinking you just had a thing for an English accent.”

Steve smiled, remembering what Sharon had said about her possibly having an idea about the attraction between him and Lorcan. “You may be right; he does have one. I need to go; I’ve stayed too long already.”

Peggy nodded then pulled him into a hug. Tears formed in his eyes as he said his final goodbye to her. 

He wanted to tell her about Hydra and Bucky, about Loki and Sharon, but even though Bruce said it wouldn’t change the outcome of their mission, Steve wasn’t willing to take the risk. He pulled back and kissed her cheek before he stood and headed to the door.

“Good luck, Steve,” Peggy said, her own tears threatening to fall. “And when you’re done, make sure you live for more than just the next mission.”

“I will,” Steve replied as the done shut and he went to find Tony, hoping that he had had better luck avoiding Howard.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not everyone makes it home and the team take it hard. Steve and Thor are still on rocky ground

The joys of time travel meant that no matter where each team went or how long it took them to obtain their stone, they all arrived back at the compound at the same time. 

Well nearly all of them. It didn’t take Steve long to realise that Natasha was missing, nor that Clint was close to breaking point. The man dropped to his knees the second his suit disengaged. 

“Clint, where's Nat?” Bruce asked quickly.

The silence that met the question told them everything. The risk that they didn’t get one of the stone had been considered, but that one of them wouldn’t make it back had seemed impossible. But it had happened and based on his reaction, they all came to the same conclusion that Nat had somehow sacrificed herself to make their mission a success.

Those closest to Natasha gathered at the lake, unsure what to do now she was gone. It was the team who had fought in New York, with Rodney too who had known her as long as Tony had. The only other one missing was Loki of course, something that wasn’t missed by everyone. It might have been easier if she had simply gotten lost in the past and she was living her life there instead, but that she had died was more than they could cope with.

“Do we know if she had family?” Tony asked, breaking the silence.

“Yeah. Us.” Steve said flatly, doing nothing to stop the tears that ran down his cheek. It was one more member of his family gone, and he wasn’t sure how much more he could take. Rhodey was still very much in denial. 

“That can’t be it. We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right? She’s coming back.” He said, standing and walking into the middle of the group. 

“We can't get her back,” Clint replied, his focus on a small spot on the far side of the water.

Rhodey’s voice broke a little as he demanded. “Why not? I thought they were meant to be able to do anything when they were all together?”

“It can't be undone. It can't.” Clint repeated, his voice hardly above a whisper and his face blank, as he held all his emotion in.

“Look, Barton, I know it must have been hard to watch her die like that. But there are things out there that we don’t understand, and she would never have thrown her life away if there wasn’t a way back.” Rhodey didn’t want to insult his teammate but he wasn’t ready to give up.

“Look, I know that I'm way outside my paygrade here,” Clint said in a matter of fact way. “But she still isn't here, is she?”

“Now that's my point...” Rhodey continued.

“It can't... be undone.” Clint interrupted him, his voice shaking as his grief was beginning to surface once more, getting louder and angrier as he continued. “Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say. Maybe you wanna go talk to him? Okay? Go get in your suit, and you go fly and you talk to him.”

No one knew how to reply to that. With that the flood gates opened; Clint couldn’t stop talking though. “It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamned stone. She bet her life on it.”

In a burst of angry that no one had seen since the Hulk had vanished, Bruce picked up the bench that was next to him, throwing it over the tree line. 

“She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it. We have to.” He said as he turned around to face them again.

Steve had been sitting, letting them talk around him, his grief stopping him from intervening as he should. However, Bruce’s outburst reminded him of what they had started all this in the first place and that Natasha would want it done, even if she wasn’t there to see the result.

“We will.” He promised.

After the anger had calmed a little, the group headed back to the main building, where the rest of the team had been waiting for them. Steve had been surprised to see that Thor had been watching them, with almost a wistful look on his face and he guessed that God of Thunder missed the comradery that he had on Asgard. 

As they entered the hanger, they could see the hammer that Thor had brought back with him was on the floor. When he had returned, Thor had declared that only he could lift it, because he was the only one of was truly worthy to wield such a powerful weapon. 

It seemed that as he wasn’t looking, someone decided to test the theory. Scott had his hand on the shaft trying to lift it from the ground, while Rocket was still on some storage creates watching. 

“Come on, put your back into it, Terran.” Rocket shouted with mock encouragement while stuffing his mouth with chips.

Scott looked up to him. “You didn’t do any better.”

The pair spotted the others coming and Scott looked embarrassed, while Rocket looked bemused.

Thor walked over to the hammer, picked it up, and tossed it in the air, clearly feeling superior as he did so. “I told you, only one who is worthy may lift it.”

Scott nodded towards Steve, once more in his hero-worship mode. “Well if there is anyone of us who is worthy, it will be Captain America.”

The air in the room became cooler and the tension rose sharply. Possibly everyone apart from Scott had heard Thor declare Steve unworthy to be in a relationship with Loki. Steve met Thor’s eyes and he couldn’t read the look that was there. He decided that he wasn’t going to even consider pushing their shaky truce. After all, he had nothing to prove to Thor, nor did he care if the God of Thunder didn’t think he was good enough for Loki, his opinion was irrelevant at this point.

“We need to focus on finishing the job. Let’s get these Stones into the glove and bring everyone back for good.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Avengers use the glove

Steve was amazed how quickly Tony, Bruce and Rocket we able to incorporate the stones into the nanotechnology. Still, it felt like days as opposed to hours and everyone was on edge. Scott was pacing the hall outside the lab, jumping at the slightest sound. Clint was still withdrawn but then no one was surprised. 

The one that did surprise everyone was Nebula. She was never a chatty person, only talking when needed. She had still bonded with the rest of the team, particularly with Tony, Rhodey and of course Rocket. However, since they had come back to the present with the stones, she had distanced herself from everyone, eyeing them all with suspicion and jumping slightly when someone asked if she was okay. Rhodey had found her earlier in the hanger, staring at the quantum tunnel.

Steve wondered if going back into the past had affected her in a way that it hadn’t anyone else or if seeing Quill had reminded her too much of her sister. He also noticed that when Tony called the team into the lab, she was missing. As soon as this was all over, he would make a point of talking with Rocket. Hopefully, the racoon could suggest something.

However, right at this moment, there was something far more pressing on his attention. 

Given the power that was being held inside the glove, the team was stood in the lab in full uniform, unsure if even that would provide any protection should something go wrong. 

Tony and Rocket were just finishing some last-minute fine-tuning to the stones before the racoon looked up to the gathered Avengers. 

“All right. The glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?” He asked.

“I'll do it,” Thor announced, quickly making for the glove.

“Excuse me?” Scott asked, fully aware that the man hand been drinking not ten minutes before.

“It's okay,” Thor assured them as if they had asked him for a favour.

The general consensus of the rest of the group was summed up in a chorus of. “No, no, no, whoa. Stop. Stop. Wait a sec. Hey, hey...”

Even though he knew things were tense between them, Steve stepped between Thor and the glove saying. “Wait, wait, wait, Thor, just wait. We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet.”

Thor did not take kindly to that answer, least of all from Steve. “I'm sorry. What, we're just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity? I would have thought that you of all people would wish to see your lover as soon as possible or maybe you don’t.”

Steve had had enough. “Do you think Loki would forgive me if I let you do this, and it kills you if we haven’t considered all the other options first. He won’t want to be brought back at your expense.”

Thor was taken aback with Steve’s argument. Still, he wasn’t swayed. “Loki would know it was the right thing to do. I'm the strongest Avenger! I will survive and this responsibility falls upon me. It's my duty.”

Steve reached out and took his arm. “This isn’t about duty, Thor.”

Thor looked him in the eye and for the first time since the hut, five years ago, there wasn’t hatred in them. Tears began to form. “It's... stop it! Just let me. Let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something to show him I truly have changed, that I am worthy to be his brother.”

“He knows, Thor, everything that happened and he never gave up on you. And when he needed you, you came to fight with him. You don’t need to do this to prove yourself to him, you are worthy.”

While this had been going on, Bruce had been standing back, calculating odds and he made a decision.

“This isn’t about worth.” He said, walking towards to glove. “It's gotta be me.” 

Steve could tell by the look on Tony’s face that the genius had already reached the same conclusion and had been avoiding it as long as possible for the sake for his friend. 

“You saw what those stones did to Thanos.” Bruce continued. “It almost killed him. None of you could survive.”

“How do we know you will?” Steve asked, knowing that unlike Thor, Bruce was calm, sober and making a logical choice. 

Bruce stopped just sort of the glove and stared at it intently. “We don't. But the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like...uh...I was made for this.”

The team moved to the main conference area. As it was located in the heart of the compound, it was also the most protected. 

Should anything happen, it was the best area to contain the effects if that were possible. 

“Good to go, yeah?” Tony asked, feeling the need to give his friend one last chance to back out.

“Let's do it,” Bruce replied, holding the glove like a newborn.

“You remember... everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today. Don't change anything from the last five years.” Tony reminded him, Morgan foremost in his mind.

Bruce understood Tony’s concerns and simply said. “Got it.”

The team formed a protective circle around him, each suiting up to protect themselves. Tony, fully suited and behind his energy shield knew that was one more thing to do.

“FRIDAY, do me a favour and activate Barn Door Protocol, will you? 

“Yes, boss.” The AI confirmed, before putting the compound into lockdown. Metal panels slid across every window and door, as well as dropping internal bulkheads around the room they were in. It effectively sealed them in a shell that was designed to withstand being hit by a ballistic missile. 

“Everybody comes home,” Bruce whispered before he slid his hand into the glove. The nanotech instantly reshaped it making it into the perfect fit for his hand. Everyone watched nervously as the glove settled into place and the combined power of the infinity stone began coursing up Bruce’s arm. He was clearly struggling to control the energy that the glove was channelling, and he cried out in pain. 

“Take it off! Take it off!” Thor shouted, suddenly feeling glad they hadn’t let him volunteer. 

“No, wait” Steve stuck his hand up. Bruce had asked him and Tony not to stop the attempt unless he told them or he was knocked out so he said, “Bruce, are you okay?”

“Talk to me, Banner,” Tony asked, trying to decide what to do for the best.  
Bruce let out a few more cries for pain before he replied, “I'm okay. I'm okay.”

Despite what he was saying, it was clear that he was struggling. He seemed to be trying to focus on what he had to do and was attempting to block out the pain. He gripped the glove with his other hand, screaming as he lifted it above his head. 

With a monumental effort and one final cry, he snapped his fingers.  
As soon as the deed was done, he blacked out, falling to the floor and the glove slid from his hand, leaving it and the arm badly charred. Clint kicked the glove away, while Steve knelt beside their friend.

“Bruce!”

“Don't move him,” Tony said quickly. He used the medical foam to soothe the blackened skin, hoping to make it less painful for him.

As Bruce began to come around, he took hold of Steve’s arm. “Did it work?”

By this time, Thor was kneeling next to Steve and patted his head in a way he thought might be reassuring. “We’re not sure, it’s okay, it's okay.”

Seeing that Bruce was in safe hands, Scott began walking out toward the widows. Now the danger was over FRIDAY deactivated the security protocols, allowing him to look out on to the inner courtyard. Somehow the day seemed much brighter than it had half an hour before and for the first time since he escaped the quantum realm, he heard birds singing.

Clint’s attention was also caught by the sound of his personal phone ringing, something that hadn’t happened in five very long years. He slowly walked over and saw that the Caller ID’s was Laura. Tears began to form as he picked it up and answered it. 

“Hon…. Hon….” He stuttered, his emotions getting the better of him as he heard his wife’s voice wondering where he was.

“Guys... I think it worked.” Scott whispered, more to himself than those still in the lab.

As the pain in his arm became more manageable, Bruce looked up to the skylight above him, also seeing a bird fly past. However, it was replaced by something much bigger.

The outline of the Sanctuary II above them, seconds before it opened fire.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle begins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so the next few chapters are the battle and is pretty much lifted straight from the film, as most people will know I hate writing fight scenes. it does mean we have the little gems that we know and love

Steve had only a moment to see the blue light of the missile hit the skylight above them before the force from the impact threw him across the building, smashing through several planes of glass. He stayed conscious long enough to see the floor below the lab disintegrate, the building and many of his teammates sliding down into the basement levels. 

The blankness was taking him as another volley crashed into the surrounding area and he hoped he would wake up again.

Steve opened his eye as he breathed sharply as he felt Tony kick his leg, forcefully enough to wake him but not to aggravate any existing injuries.

“Come on, buddy. Wake up. That's my man.” He held up the shield. “You lose this again, I'm keeping it.”

Steve looked about him, trying to remember what had happened. “What happened?”

Tony would have given him an ‘I told you so’ look had the pair not been lying in a wreck that was only minutes ago the Avengers compound. “We messed with time. It tends to mess back. You'll see.”

Tony helped Steve to his feet and after handing the super-soldier his shield showed him what he meant. Tony took him to the edge of a very large crater which Steve guessed was once the training ground. Thor was already there looking out over the scene. Steve stood by him, Tony on the other side of him and saw what he was staring at. At the bottom of the crater, Thanos was just sitting there, his helm hanging on a large double-bladed sword. 

“What's he been doing?” Tony asked, feeling he already knew the answer.

“Absolutely nothing,” Thor replied, never taking his eyes from his goal, which was to see Thanos minus his head once again.

Steve was once more clear-headed and knew what the Titan was here for. “Where are the stones?”

“Somewhere under all this,” Tony said, waving his arm over the rubble. “All I know is he doesn't have them.”

“So, we keep it that way.” 

“You know it's a trap, right?” Thor stated nonchalantly.

“Yeah. And I don't much care.” Tony acknowledged.

“Good. Just as long we are all in agreement.” Thor took his eyes from Thanos to turn to Steve. He held out his arm. “Fight with me, brother.”

Steve recognised that this was Thor’s way of accepting him, getting over his resentment towards him and looking at him as an equal, a brother-in-arms. Steve didn’t hesitate and took the offered arm with his own.

Satisfied, Thor looked back to Thanos and lifted his arms, summoning Stormbreaker and Mjolnir to him. As he did so, lightning filled the sky, striking down at his location. Having never seen it before, this made Tony jump a little, but he relaxed as he saw that all it was changed Thor’s hobo look to his Asgard armour. 

“Let's kill him properly this time,” Thor announced. 

The three advanced slowly through the remains of the compound, only losing sight of Thanos when the rubble made it impossible. The man himself never moved, watching their approach, expecting it, almost welcomed it. 

He waited until they were almost upon him before he began to speak. “You could not live with your own failure. And where did that bring you? Back to me. I thought by eliminating half of life, the other half would thrive. But you’ve shown me that’s impossible. And as long as there are those that remember what was, there will always be those that are unable to accept what can be. They will resist.”

Steve couldn’t help feeling surprised that the monologue. Thanos knew them, knew what they were trying to do. Given that he had somehow come from the past and had most likely somehow following either Clint or Nebula and Rhodey, he couldn’t think where he had got his information from but none of that mattered now. It was something that could be debated on after they finished the job once and for all.

Tony had the strongest connection to Thanos and said. “Yep. We're all kinds of stubborn.”

Thanos looked at the three, Steve right in front of him, Thor and tony off to the side, forming a triangle around him. 

“I'm thankful. Because now, I know what I must do.” The Titan stood slowly.

“I will shred this universe down to its last atom.” He took his helm from the sword and placed it back on his head before he pulled his sword from the ground. “And then...With the stones you've collected for me, create a new one. Teeming with life but knows not what it has lost but only what it has been given. A grateful universe.”

His words enraged Thor and his power grew, lightning crackling from his weapons.

“Born out of blood.” Steve pointed out as he readied his shield.

“They'll never know it. Because you won't be alive to tell them.” He replied, taking an aggressive stance.

Thor roared, his eyes glowing, and the remaining Avengers charged.

It was a hard fight. This Thanos was as strong and powerful as the counterpart they had faced before and even with the three of them fighting him at once, he was holding his own. As much as possible they tried to keep two on the attack, it was difficult at best and more than once, they were forced to take him on one-on-one.

During the planning phase of the mission, Tony and Thor had discussed the god’s powers. Tony guessed that as it was lightning, it could, in theory, be used to power his suit, producing more output the arc reactor alone. He had even created what could be effectually described as a lightning rod which could channel the energy directly into his weaponry, with the hopes of running some test when they had succeeded. He never imagined that he would end up using his modification in a fight so soon, but they were left with little choice. 

Tony landed in front of Thanos, who was battling Steve. The entire back section of his suit reformed into the lightning rod and he said. “Okay, Thor. Hit me.”

Thor was more than game and using the combined power of the axe and hammer, fired his lightning at his teammate. The suit converted the energy as hoped and FRIDAY reported the power was now at four hundred percent of capacity. Tony quickly focused everything into a single multiple repulsor blast as soon as Steve had been knocked away.

Thanos reacted instantly, spinning his sword quickly to create a shield, blocking the energy beams and even walked towards Tony. Thor, hoping that the titan was distracted by deflecting Tony’s attack, using Stormbreaker to launch Mjolnir at him.

By this time, Thanos had reached Tony and after striking him with his sword, he picked him up, using him as a shield. Mjolnir hit him and sent him flying back nearly halfway across the crater. Tony slammed into several outcrops of debris before colliding into a massive rock that knocked him out cold.

Steve was once more back in the fight and attacked using a spinning kick that would have sent anyone else to the ground. Thanos took it in his stride and swatted Steve away again like he was paper, the blow of the impact winding him.

Thor stood alone and charged again swinging Stormbreaker as he went. Thanos threw his sword, which his opponent dodged effortlessly. It flew back however like a boomerang and the titan was ready to block the god’s attack. 

Thor used the axe to wrench the sword from Thanos’ grasp. Of course, the favour was returned as Thanos punched the axe aside. 

Disarmed, it was long before Thanos had Thor by the throat and was slamming him into another outcrop of rubble, punching him several times before throwing him into a rock and stomping on his chest. In desperation, Thor summoned Stormbreaker to him, but again Thanos got the better of him, catching the axe in mid-air. The Titan grinned as he pushed the axe blade into Thor’s chest, while the god strained to stop him.

All the while, no one noticed that Mjolnir was rising from where it had fallen after hitting Tony. Thanos was completely blindsided when the hammer caught him on the shoulder, breaking his grip on the axe. Thor was however for more interested in who had thrown the hammer than picking up Stormbreaker to continue the fight.

Mjolnir flew forward a few more feet before it paused in the air and headed back in the direction it had come from, being called by the one controlling it. It flew straight into the hand of Captain America, proving him worthy of its power. 

“He is worthy!” Thor whispered in shock, finally realising how much he had truly underestimated the man his brother had chosen. 

In response, Thanos smashed Thor with his foot once more, taking him out of the fight. Then turned his attention to Steve.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve faces Thanos alone

Steve hadn’t had time to consider what he was doing when he had picked up the hammer. It had been within reach when he had recovered enough to help Thor and his instincts had kicked in as he lifted the weapon and thrown it with all his might, watching as it caught Thanos on the shoulder and knocking the axe from his hand. It wasn’t until then that he felt something as if the hammer was calling to him. 

Again, he trusted his gut and called back to it. He watched as it slowed in its flight, stop and returned to his hand as if it was made to be there.  
As he held it ready to strike, Steve could feel power; power he had never felt before. He had seen what Thor could do and remembered what they had been told about being able to use Thor’s power if you could lift the hammer. By now, Thanos had recovered from the shock of being challenged, even after all he had done. The Titan took up his sword and charged at Steve, who had also begun running, spinning the hammer as he went. 

They met and Steve timed his attack to perfection, catching Thanos under the chin and sending him flying backwards. As he got back up, Steve threw first the shield then the hammer passed the fallen man. The hammer struck the shield, changing its directions and causing it to slam into the back of Thanos. Steve recovered his weapons and just as his opponent was righting himself again, he kneed him in the chest. Steve pressed his advantage, hitting Thanos over and over with combinations of his shield and the hammer. The more he fought, the more power he felt, and he knew what he could do. After a partially strong attack sent Thanos staggering back, he once more followed his instincts. With a sweep of his hand, the bolt of lightning shot from the hammer straight at Thanos, sending him crashing to the floor. He lifted the hammer, charging it before hitting him again, the lightning slamming into his chest as he lay on the floor.

However, it was a short-lived victory. As Steve came in to make what he hoped would be the final blow, Thanos rolled away and on to his feet. The hammer found earth instead of its target and before he could recover, Thanos had Steve by the throat and smashed him into the floor. The Titan walked away from his prey to recover his sword and ripped off his helm, which Steve’s onslaught had split practically in two.

The Titan now brought the full force of his anger at Steve’s defiance down on the super-soldier. Steve had been able to regain his feet but had no time to mount anything more than a feeble defence as Thanos attacked mercilessly, even managing to slice into his leg.

Steve tried to ward his attacker off with Mjolnir, but the titan caught it mid-swing, and punched it, making it fly from Steve’s hand. Steve had no chance to summon it again as Thanos began beating blow after blow on to his shield. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the sword dig in deep to what should be an indestructible metal. The shield could only take so much punishment and soon every strike resulted in more pieces breaking away, leaving him with only half of his most prized possession.   
With one last impact, Steve was sent flying across the crater, lying on his back in the mud. 

A less stubborn man would have stayed down, would have closed his eyes and let it end. But Steve had been too stubborn to give up when the army rejected him; when his best friend had shot him; when Tony told him he was wrong over the Accords. For the last five years, he had always held on to the chance that something might let them set things right and now that they had done it, he wasn’t going to let another bully take it from them again. Even if he had to stand alone. So, fighting through the pain all over his body, Steve gingerly rolled on to his knees, willing himself the strength to stand.

As he was trying to stand, Thanos began preaching again, although the tone was much harder than before. “In all my years of conquest ... violence ... slaughter ... It was never personal. But I'll tell you now... what I'm about to do to your stubborn, annoying little planet... I'm gonna enjoy it. Very, very much.”

As he finished speaking, the Sanctuary II seemed to empty itself. The crater filled with what looked like the entirety of Thanos’ army including the Black Order, Chitauri and Outriders as well as creatures and vehicles that Steve had never seen before. It was more then he could ever imagine, and he knew that he couldn’t win. But he had once promised that he would pay the price of freedom, alone if he had to because the price for him not was too high. Which meant certain death or not, he would fight.

Although he faced insurmountable odds, Steve called on every scrap of energy he had left and slowly, painfully he got to his feet, much to Thanos’ disbelief. He looked at his shield, broken on his arm and saw that there was a deep gash in his suit that went almost down to the bone. He grabbed the strap and pulled it as tight as he could stand, yelling through gritted teeth, reducing the blood loss to a minimum. He ignored his leg which, thanks to the serum, was no longer bleeding. It still made him limp as he walked forward, determined to stand between the gathered army and the remains of the compound where the glove and its stones were still buried. 

Then Steve heard something that made him stop short. It was a call coming through over his comms. 

“Hey, Cap, you read me?” Steve could just about make out the signal. The second signal was much clearer. “Cap, it's Sam. Can you hear me?”  
Steve raised his hand to the comms to reply when a final signal was received. “On your left.”

Steve turned left just as a yellow circle formed behind him. The light it emitted was too bright for him to see what was on the other side, but he was able to make out three figures coming through. Figures that it soon became clear were T’Challa, Okoye and Shuri, all in battle armour ready for a fight. T’Challa removed his mask for a moment so he could make eye contact with his friend. He nodded and smiled slightly telling him that once more he was by his side. And as he did so, Sam flew though.  
Steve’s heart soared as more portals began to open, allowing the Wakandan army to enter the field. 

And it wasn’t just Wakanda that sent help. Those that could fight in New Asgard, led by Valkyrie on a winged horse came through one portal while members of Doctor Strange’s order of Sorcerers came through others. The man himself joined them from Titan, along with the Guardians and Spiderman. Bucky, Wanda, Wasp, Groot, even Pepper was there, using a suite of her own.

As if they timed it on purpose, Antman, now in giant form burst out of the remains of the compound, pausing only to set Bruce, Rocket and Rhodey, now in his Iron Patriot suit, down. Tony and Thor were once more on their feet and joined the party. Steve looked across the gathered army and saw that his team was with him, all but one. 

Then at his right side, he felt a sensation he had missed for five years. He looked to the right and next to him was Loki, in full armour, a look of murder on his face. He spared one glance at Steve, his eyes softening for a moment before they hardened again, and his attention returned to the job at hand. Ending Thanos for good.

Steve knew his lover was right and as his team, his friends, his family, a thousand strong each one an Avenger, gathered behind him, he once more summoned Mjolnir to him.

“Avengers.” He shouted, before lowering his voice. “Assemble.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The battle continues

The fight was like nothing anyone on the Avengers side, even Loki, Thor and Valkyrie had ever faced before. It was brutal, with every man, woman and creature on both side battling not just for Earth but the universe. Steve lost touch with Loki almost immediately, but he had no time to worry as one loss of focus could see him dead at the hands of an outrider. He had to trust that after everything they had been through, fate wouldn’t be so cruel to take Loki from him again. 

Instead, he found himself staying close to Thor, even to the point where when he called to Mjolnir, Stormbreaker answered. Thor scowled with that turn of events.

“No, no, you give me that, you take the little one,” Thor said indignantly, not impressed that both his weapons seemed to prefer the Captain over him. Steve didn’t object and switched before heading off in a different direction. 

Even in the heat of battle, across the field, reunions were being made. Tony’s meeting with Peter made the older man break down in relief, making him do something he never expected to do and hugged the teenager. The reunion between Quill and Gamora didn’t go quite the same way. As she had travelled with Thanos from the past, she had no memory of her relationship with the odd human and punished his attempt to touch her most painfully. Not that her sister helped much in that respect and it left Peter heartbroken as the woman he loved didn’t even know who he was, let alone love him back. 

For the early stages of the battle, the focus was on defeating Thanos and preventing him the chance to look for the stones in the ruins of the compound or using his army to destroy Earth in revenge. However, Steve was forced to re-evaluate that plan when Clint’s voice came over the comms.

“Cap, what do you want me to do with this damn thing?”

Steve didn’t need to be told to what thing he was referring and shouted. “Get those stones as far away as possible!”

Bruce, who was fighting behind him, heard and quickly interrupted, “No! We need to get them back where they came from.”

“No way to get them back. Thanos destroyed the quantum tunnel.” Tony said, once more back in his suit and in the air. 

“Hold on,” Scott replied. Steve watched as the giant figure shrank from sight. “That wasn’t our only time machine.”

Suddenly the sounds of the battlefield were drowned out by the Mexican horn on the van which housed the original quantum tunnel. Steve quickly ran in the horn’s direction, getting as high as possible to find the van in the sea of carnage around him. “Anyone see an ugly, brown van up there?”

“Yes! But you're not gonna like where it's parked.” Valkyrie answered. The Van was located not twenty feet from one of Thanos’ landing craft, an area which was still swarming with enemies. 

“Scott, how long you need to get that thing working?” Tony asked.

Scott had moved to where he could see the van. It looked okay from the outside, helped that it was being ignored by those who didn’t know what it was really inside. “Maybe ten minutes.”

“Get it started. We'll get the stones to you.” Steve instructed, heading in the direction when he thought Clint’s signal had come from. 

“We're on it, Cap,” Wasp replied, having gone to join Scott. The pair exchanged a look over her use of Steve's nickname, before shrinking and flying in the direction of the van.

Clint was racing across the battlefield in the direction on the Van. The problem was he wasn’t as young as he was, and he had been fighting something almost since he picked the glove up. He managed to kill his pursuers only to turn around and find his route was blocked by more Outriders. Luck was on his side and T’Challa chose that moment to jump into the centre of the outriders, the stored kinetic energy from his suit clearing the way very effectively. Then he turned to look at Hawkeye.

“Clint.” The king called, showing respect by using his given, a complete turn around from their last meeting in Berlin, “give it to me.”

Clint didn’t think twice before handing the glove over to his teammate, then making for higher ground where his bow would be more deadly. T’Challa, for his part, took advantage of his enhanced speed and sprint across the crater, taking out Thanos’ troops as he went. Of course, by this time, Thanos himself had spotted the glove and threw his sword, hitting Black Panther off his feet.

Thanos regained his sword and went after the glove but Wanda flew between him and it. T’Challa, remembering that the Titan had killed her lover to get the mind stone, knew that she was more than capable of keeping him busy. T’Challa instead focused on the retrieving the glove, which was moving away from him under the influence of Ebony Maw’s telekinetic powers. T’Challa jumped and grabbed the glove only to find himself in what looked like a fist of rock, which continued to pull him towards the other man.

“I got it,” Spiderman shouted as he swung across the field. T’Challa tossed the glove into the air and peter used his web to catch it. With the glove under his arm, he landed back in the crater and was quickly surrounded.

The teen knew he didn’t have a catch to escape and instead said. “Activate instant kill.”

Multiple arms shot from his back and began stabbing the outriders the were converging on him, but he was soon outnumbered.

The fight between Wanda and Thanos was not going the way the Titan intended. The scarlet witch was proving why she was feared by those who knew her, her rage towards her opponent enhancing her powers. Thanos soon found himself in the grip of her telekinesis, slowing ripping his armour away. He decided that he didn’t want to know what she would do when she was finished with it and called out. “Rain fire.”

“But Sire, our troops” Corvus Glaive replied, already knowing that everyone was expendable in his father’s eyes, even his children.

“Just do it!” The Titan shouted back, as more of his armour broke away. Glaive gave the order and the Sanctuary II once more turned its guns towards the crater and opened fire. Blast after blast hit the ground, killing Avenger and Thanos’ troops alike. It had the desired effect and knocked Wanda off her feet, breaking her hold on Thanos. 

Wong acted quickly and with others of his order, created a shield that covered at least some of the battlefield.

Pepper noticed that one of the laser blasts hit the rock that banked the lake. The bank gave way and the water was in danger of flooding the crater. “Uh, is anyone else seeing this?”

Strange was the closest and quickly gathered the water into a cyclone above the bank. There was nothing he could do to get rid of the water and meant he was unable to fight again. 

Things were also not going well for Peter. While at first, the suit had managed to hold its own, he was slowly being overwelled by the Outriders. “I got this. I got this! Okay, I don't got this. Help! Somebody, help.”

Steve heard him and did the only thing he could think over. “Hey, Queens. Heads up.” And with that, he threw Mjolnir towards him. Peter understood and quickly webbed the hammer, using it as his lift. The power of the weapon pulled him clear and on his way towards the van. However, the ship above was still firing and the web line was soon cut by a blast and he was falling again.

Pepper was ready and caught him by the wrist. “Hang on. I got you, kid.”

She quickly handed him off to Valkyrie, depositing him on the back of her Pegasus.

Peter couldn’t help himself. “Hey! Nice to meet you--- Oh, my God!”

Before they could get very far, the Sanctuary II once more struck and the impact from a blast knocked Valkyrie off course and sent Peter hurtling to the ground. He quickly recovered and got to his feet and made another run for the van. He only managed a few metres when a close impact damaged his suit and it was all he could do to curl up in a ball to protect himself, praying that the ship missed him.

It was a pattern that was repeating itself across the field. Loki had once more found Steve and cast a shield around them. The power of the blast was such that maintaining the shield was draining him quickly and he didn’t know how long it would last before it failed. 

Others weren’t so fortunate. Bucky, Korg, Bruce and Tony all suffered close calls and Rocket jumped to cover Groot to prevent him from getting hurt. Then suddenly the firing stopped. The Avengers looked to the ship to the guns rotating up the begin firing into the clouds. 

“What the hell is this?” Sam asked, worried about what else they were going to have to fight.

“FRIDAY, what are they firing at?” Tony asked, seeing as she still had access to the remote tracking satellite STARK Industries launched to house Veronica, as well as provide the Avengers with an early warning system.

“Something just entered the upper atmosphere.” The AI replied, not able to make sense of the reading she was receiving.

The something looked like a fireball as it exited the clouds. The ball smashed straight through the hull of the ship as if it was paper. The fireball slowed after it had gone cleanly thought the full length of the ship, the team on the ground could make out the outline of a woman. Captain Marvel turned and once more smashed into the ship. Damaged beyond repair, the Sanctuary II dropped from the sky, crashing into the lake below.

Loki looked in amazement at the powerful woman flying in the sky above them. He looked at Steve, whose face looked like she was the second coming. 

Steve managed to resist laughing as his lover’s bewildered face. It was nice to know more about space stuff for a chance but now wasn’t the time and he said, “I’ll explain when we’ve got the stones into the time tunnel.” He then looked back up at Carol. “Danvers, we need an assist here.”

Peter was still clutching on to the glove when Carol landed next to him, holding it almost like a shield to protect himself. When it dawned on him that she wasn’t part of Thanos’ army, he slowly began to get up, saying. “Hi. I'm Peter Parker.”

Carol smiled a little, feeling he was cute for a kid. “Hey, Peter Parker. You got something for me?”

He was more than glad to hand over the glove, happy to be rid of the thing. However, he wasn’t so happy when he looked over her shoulder at the gathering Outriders that were so between her and the van. “I don't know how you're gonna get it through all that.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” Loki replied for her, walking to stand next to her, his daggers at the ready. “I’m sure the ladies and I can clear the way for her.”

As if he summoned them using his magic, Wanda, Okoye, Valkyrie, Pepper, Gamora, Nebula. It seemed every woman on the field had come to stand with Captain Marvel. 

The group charged head-first at Thanos’ army. Okoye killed Corvus Glaive while Wanda and Valkyrie each took out a flying leviathan full of Chitauri troops. By now Scott had the van started and the time tunnel powered and ready for him. Carol, seeing that the way was relatively cleared, powered towards the van, smashing through three ground vehicles. 

At that moment Thanos came in to view and charged at Carol, sword raised. From the battlefield, an energy beam shot out with the combined power of Pepper, Loki and Carol, knocking the Titan off his feet and allowing Carol to shoot past him. Thanos rolled on to his knees and seeing that he would never catch her in time, he threw the sword straight into the heart of the time tunnel. It hit its target moments before Carol and the resulting shockwaves knocked everyone close to it off their feet.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It ends

Tony had been flying towards the van when he was hit by the wave generated by the explosion, sending him crashing into a pile of rubble not far from the lake. it also did more damage to the lake bank, making the water almost too much for Strange. Loki seeing the danger, teleported to his side and added his power to the Sorcerers Supremes’.

As Tony recovered, he saw that the glove had landed only a few feet from him. He also saw that Thanos was racing towards it. Tony did the only thing he could do and threw himself at the Titan, knocking him off course. Thanos responded by punching him hard, dazing him.

Thanos reached for the glove again but was blocked when Thor drop between him and it, swinging both Mjolnir and Stormbreaker. He threw the hammer away, forcing Thanos to step back. Thor attempted to use the opportunity to go for the glove himself but the Titan grabbed his shoulder and spun him back towards himself. 

Thor summoned Mjolnir again and used it along with the axe to trap Thanos’ hand. Thor channelled all of his power and strength into pushing the head of Stormbreaker closer and closer to Thanos’ throat. Steve, seeing what Thor was trying to do, jumped on Thanos’ back, grabbed the shaft of the axe and added his strength to Thor’s to kill the Titan.

Thanos, feeling the edge of the blade only inches from his skin, punched it down with his free hand and smashed his head into Thor’s. The God of Thunder stumbled back, unconscious and Thanos reached back, ripping Steve from his back, rolling him, before punching him in the face knocking him out cold.

With no one else standing in his way. Thanos reached down and picked up the glove. The fight wasn’t over yet as Carol flew in and landed hard on his calf, making him drop to his knee. She then turned him before punching him. Thanos recovered quickly and swung at her, but she lifted away, before engaging in a full-on assault. She looked like she had the upper hand until the Titan grabbed her wrist and tossed her away with apparent ease.

Finally alone, Thanos looked at his prize for a moment, seeing the stones together for the first time before sliding it on to his left hand. As it had with Bruce and his past self, the stone powers flowed up his arm and he reached to click his fingers. Again, Carol shot forward and took hold on the glove, dragging it down and holding the hand open. She was now using the full force of her powers and when Thanos tried to punch to break her grip, she just stared at him unmoved. Slowly she began to force him back until he on his knees as she hovered above him. In desperation, Thanos pulled the power stone from the glove. He balled up his fist and with his enhanced punch, sent Captain Marvel hurtling across the crater.

By this time, Tony had regained consciousness and he looked up in time to see Thanos take out Carol. 

Strange knew it was time and he met Tony’s eye from where he was still fighting back the water with Loki. The Sorcerer Supreme slowly lifted one finger and Tony knew that this was there one chance, that there was just one way to stop everything. He understood why Strange had bartered for his life five years ago and Steve words came back to him. Whatever it took.

Just after Thanos replaced the power stone in the glove, Tony grabbed it, trying to pull it free. Again, Thanos batted him away and pulled the glove back into place. He then lifted his hand one final time.

The Titan’s eyes met Tony’s as he said. “I am inevitable.” He then clicked his fingers.

Nothing happened. 

Thanos turned his hand to look at the glove and saw that the stones were gone. He looked at Tony, just as the stones were forming into the hand of his armour. The power coursed through him, already starting to burn his arm and face.

“And……I…..Am…..Ironman.” Tony Stark said despite the pain coursing through him. Then he clicked his fingers.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Victory is bittersweet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I understand this isn’t the end people wanted but I always intended to stay as close to the movie as possible. I am sorry

An eerie silence fell over the battlefield seconds after Tony used the stones. Slowly, in a ghostly echo of events five years ago, Thanos’ army began to disintegrate. The Black Order, the Outriders, even the ships they came in, all turned to dust, all while Thanos watched. Steve, back on his feet, watched as the man that had hung over their lives since New York was forced to accept that he had lost, and there would be no one to undo it. 

Slowly the Titan sat on a rock resignedly, almost as if he welcomed his fate, and melted away as if he was never there.

Rhodey was the first time find Tony, his body blackened and burnt from the power that had channelled through him. He slowly, gently reached out his hand in goodbye, knowing that there was nothing to be done. Peter landed a moment later, and the sight of his mentor broke his heart.

“Mr Stark?” the boy said as he rushed over and knelt beside him. “Hey... Mr Stark? Can you hear me? It's Peter. Hey. We won, Mr Stark... We won, Mr Stark. We won. You did it, sir. You did it.”

He couldn’t stop the tears as Tony stared straight ahead, his eye unfocused. “I'm sorry... Tony...”

Pepper had also arrived, and she gently pulled the grieving teen away, replacing him in front of her husband. “Hey.”

At the sound of his wife’s voice, Tony stirred, managing to move his head just enough to look her in the face. “Hey, Pep...” 

the dying man put his hand over hers which was over his heart.  
Pepper didn’t need to be a doctor to know that his injuries were fatal. “FRIDAY?”

“Life functions critical.” The AI confirming what she already knew.  
Tears filled Tony’s eye and he looked like he wanted to say something. Pepper had known him long enough by now to guess what he needed to say but couldn’t. 

“Tony. Look at me.” Pepper made sure he could see her as she smiled and said. “We're gonna be okay. You can rest now.”

This was what he needed to hear. His head rolled to one side and Pepper broke down when she realised, he had gone. 

By now, the Avengers had gathered around and Steve’s eyes filled with tears seeing Tony’s final moments. He had told them whatever it takes, and it had taken the death of two of his closest friends to save the universe. 

He almost didn’t feel the hand take his own, but he did and found Loki once more standing behind him. The pair just stared at each other, the relief and grief that was mixed into that moment making it impossible to speak.

“LOKI!!!” Thor shouted, making a bee-line for the couple, hold the hammer and axe. However, he stopped short as he registered the look that was passing between them, both oblivious to everything else around them. “I see, you are busy. I will find you later. Captain, I’ll……just leave the hammer here.”

Seeing that they didn’t acknowledge his presence Thor dropped the hammer and wandered off to find Rocket and Korg.

“I lost you.” Steve finally said, unsure of what else he could say.

“And you found me again.” Loki looked over his lover, noting the tired look in his eyes that had nothing to do with the battle or time heist. “These years have been heavy on you, my love. Rest and I will be here when you wake.”

Steve suddenly felt his whole body become heavy and his legs gave out under him. Loki caught him and he closed his eyes with the knowledge that the love of his life was holding him in his arms once more.

Steve opened his eyes to find himself in a bed in one of the sleeping questers of the Helicarrier. 

He winced as he sat up, thankful that the serum had meant that many of his injuries were now little more than bruises. 

He had just swung his legs over the edge of the bed when the door opened and Loki walked in, stopping as he saw that Steve was awake.

“Forgive me, I intended to be here when you woke,” Loki said, moving to his side.

“It’s okay.” Steve replied. “where are we? I mean I know the Helicarrier, but where is it?”

Loki smiled, the quip dying on his lips. “Fury and Hill came with the ship and they aided as they did in Sokovia. Some were brought aboard for medical treatment, although Strange and his Sorcerers sent most home.”

Steve nodded, happy that his team was being taken care off. He had just one burning question. “Tony?”

“His body has been buried here. Mrs Stark insisted that he would have wanted that. She said when everyone is recovered, there will be a memorial.” Loki replied. He then touched Steve cheek with his hand. “Now no more questions, you have done enough.”

Steve leant into Loki’s hand, his heart feeling whole at least. “I’ve missed you.” 

Loki understood all too well what he was feeling. He had, after all, lived without Steve for many years after his mission in World War II, believing the man he loved was dead. It was something he had hoped he would never put him through.

“I swear, my love, I will not leave you again. Thor can live his life and I will live mine with you.” To seal the promise, Loki pressed his lips to Steve’s. It was the first step in the healing process for the pair. 

Loki pulled away after a moment. “I do have some questions of my own, as Thor has already returned to New Asgard. How were you able to use my brother’s powers? And how did he become Volstagg?”


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony's funeral and one last mission for Steve

The Memorial for Tony was a quiet affair, held at his cabin in the woods. Tony had long since stopped being a public figure and only his closest friends and those who fought in the battle attended. He had evidently thought ahead and had recorded a message to be played to his family which included Rhodey, Steve and Loki should the worst happen before Pepper set a wreath floating across the lake, the centre of which held his original arc reactor with the words ‘Proof that Tony Stark had a heart’ engraved around the outside.

Steve himself wasn’t just thinking of Tony as the wreath floated away. He thought of Natasha, another friend who had given her life to see the mission done. She would never have wanted the attention of a funeral so in his heart this was for both of them. Then there were the others they had lost like Vison and Pietro, people who paid the ultimate price to stop evil. Next to him, he knew Loki would be thinking of his own loss, his parents and his people. Bruce had only been able to restore what the stones had destroyed, and it still meant that the mighty civilization had been reduced to a humble few.

After there wasn’t a wake and people began to separate, most heading home to try and adjust to the world again. No one had left the battle the same as they were before, and those that hadn't fought were still moved by the weight of what had happened. Wanda, in particular, was lost, not sure where to go as everything she loved had been taken from her. Steve was going to speak to her, but Clint had got to her first and he didn’t want to interfere. He hoped she found peace.

There were other changes. Thor had had a revelation while retrieving the reality stone and had decided that being King of New Asgard was not what he wanted to do anymore. After a long discussion with Loki, Thor handed over power to Valkyrie, who had been leading their people in reality for the last five years, a move Loki heartily approved of. 

Instead, Thor was leaving Earth and had joined with Starlord and his crew, the Guardians of the Galaxy as they called themselves. Quill didn’t seem to be that happy for the God of Thunder to come aboard his ship, but the others were more than pleased and for all he said he was the Captain, they ran more of a loose democracy which served them well enough. So, it looked like the former King of Asgard would be stepping on his toes for the time being.

After all was said and done, there was just one thing left unfinished. The stones had been recovered from the glove and they needed to be replaced in their correct place in the time stream to prevent any deviation that could cause havoc with the timeline. No one was surprised when Steve volunteered to go. Bruce would never have been able to blend into some of the places they had to go, even if he didn’t have his injured arm. The same could be said for Nebula and Rocket. 

Scott and Clint were off with their families where they should be, and nobody really trusted Thor to manage it without making a farce of it. Steve was the only choice and he accepted it.

So, in record time, they had reconstructed a smaller version of the time tunnel on the hill not far from the remains of the compound.

Bruce was doing his final checks including making sure that the stones were secure for transport. 

“Now, remember... You have to return the stones to the exact moment you got them. Or you're gonna open up a bunch of nasty alternative realities.” Bruce explained again.

Steve knew that the weight of Bruce's promise was heavy on his shoulders and just nodded as he shut the case and picked it up. “Don't worry, Bruce. Clip all the branches.”

Bruce’s mind seemed to wonder a moment before he said, “You know, I tried. When I had the gauntlet, the stones, I really tried to bring her back.” The gentle giant looked at Steve. “I miss them, man.”

“Me, too,” Steve said, not sure if he was capable of saying more. Knowing it was time, he picked up the case and walked towards the cut-down time tunnel, Sam at his side.

“You know, if you want, I can come with you,” Sam asked seriously.

Steve stopped and looked at his friend. “You're a good man, Sam.”

“But do you truly believe I would allow him to do this without me,” Loki said as he approached the pair. He was already dressed in a quantum realm suit.

“Loki…” Steve began.

Loki held up his hand. “It is pointless arguing with me, Steve. I have been fully instructed in what is to come and I will not permit you to travel into the unknown without me again.”

Steve looked from Bruce to Sam, then Bucky all of whom looked to the ground, refusing to get dragged into this debate. Captain America shook his head, knowing he was beaten, which didn’t bother him that much. He pulled Loki into his arms as a way of saying thank you, before turning his attention to Bucky.

“Don't do anything stupid 'till I get back,” Steve said, quoting his friend from eighty years ago before this all started.

Bucky grinned at the reminder and gave Steve’s own reply back at him. “How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you.”

The pair hugged each other before Bucky did the same to Loki. “Gonna miss you guys.”

“All will be well, my friend,” Loki said, trying to reassure him. "We shall return soon."

Their goodbyes said Steve and Loki took their places on the time tunnel.

“Are you sure?” Steve asked his lover one more time.

“Of course, my love.” Loki smiled.

Sam looked back to Bruce who was tweaking the controls. “How long is this gonna take?”

Bruce raised his head to say. “For them? As long as they need. For us? Five seconds.”

As the machine began to power up, Steve picked up Mjolnir. As well at the reality stone, this also had to be returned to twenty-thirteen Asgard to restore the timeline. It was a shame as he liked the hammer, although nothing could replace his shield. 

“Ready, Cap, Loki? Alright. We'll meet you back here, okay?” Bruce said after making his final adjustments.

Loki nodded to Steve, who called back. “You bet.” As the helmets formed over their heads.

“Going quantum. Three, two, one...” Bruce counted down before flicking the switch. The time tunnel opened up under their feet and the pair vanished. Bruce adjusted the settings on his panel. “And returning in, five, four, three, two, one...”

The pad remained empty. Bruce looked at his screen, doubling checking the readings. Everything checked out and Steve and Loki should be standing there.

“Where are they?" Sam asked as he saw the scientist fiddling with the controls.

“I don't know,” Bruce replied slightly panicked. “They blew right by their timestamp. They should be here.”

While the other two had been talking, Bucky felt something touch his arm. He turned to find Loki standing behind him, dressed in normal civilian clothes and with a streak of grey running through his hair. The god smiled then stepped back to show a man sitting on a bench, looking out over the lake.

“Sam,” Bucky called being him. Sam turned to face him. He stopped when he saw Loki, then saw the other man. After being encouraged by the still silent Loki, the pair walked towards him. 

Bucky, however, stopped just short. He knew that whatever was happening next it wasn’t for him. He nodded for Sam to continue, “Go ahead.”

Sam looked confused but carried on. He walked around to the fount of the bench and stopped as he recognised Steve sitting there. But Steve was now an old man, clearly having lived his life.

Sam was even more confused. “Cap?”

“Hi, Sam,” Steve said before he turned his gaze towards him. 

Sam looked from Steve to Loki who was now standing next to Bucky, watching the reunion. He looked amused as he asked. “So, did something go wrong, or did something go right?”

Steve smiled at the question. “Both. After we put the stones back, we got into a little trouble. Managed to get stuck in the past. We figured that seeing as we had to take the long way back, we might as well have a go at that life Tony thought I should get. Keeping our heads down of course.”

“How did that work out for you?” 

It was Steve’s turn to look back at Loki, the man who had he had finally been able to share a lifetime with. “It was beautiful.”

“I'm happy for you. Truly.” Sam said, knowing how hard their relationship had been and knowing that it wouldn’t have been that easy for them in the past either. 

Steve looked truly content. “Thank you.”

Sam’s voice broke a little as he said. “Only thing bumming me out is the fact I have to live in a world without Captain America.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Steve said, reaching for a cloth bag that was by his side. He moved it to the side closest to Sam and opened it to reveal his Shield, fully intact. 

He couldn’t stop himself from touching it, as it still held a place in his heart, even though this current model had only just been made for him by T’Challa. Then he looked at Sam. “Try it on.”

Sam once more looked confused and glanced at the others. Bucky, knowing that Sam was almost asking his permission, nodded.  
Sam then lifted the shield and fitted it to his arm.

“How's it feel?” Steve asked.

Sam couldn’t take his eye off it as he said, “Like it's someone else's.

“It isn't.” The new Captain America’s eyes filled with the tears as the magnitude of the trust that Steve was placing in him sunk in. “Thank you. I'll do my best.”

Bucky had hung back, not wanting to interfere with the moment between Steve and Sam. Even with their shaky start, he knew that there was no one better to become the new Captain America. It brought a tear to his eye as he watched his friend hand over the symbol of his life for nearly all of his life. It was heart-breaking to see him look so old and having lived so much of his life without him. His only conciliation was that he had done so with the man standing next to him, the love of his life.

“The grey suits you,” Bucky said, still looking forward.

Loki rolled his eyes up in the direction of his hair. “It is for him mostly, it upsets him, that my face has no wrinkles, but I could not bring myself to go that far.”

Loki then turned to face him. “Bucky, we came for more than just the shield. If he stays on earth, he has maybe 10 years. There are places in the Universe where his ageing will stop, even reverse a little and we can live together for the remaining of my years. But he would never be able to return, and I would not do so, except for short trips. I am at heart a selfish being and I truly believe we have earnt this.”

Bucky couldn’t agree more. “So, this is goodbye. You’re right, you do deserve it. Just take care of him and I’ll look out for Sam. Or the flyboy will get himself in trouble.”

Loki let out the sigh that the news was taken so well. “Should you wish, when you and Sam are ready, you could join us. Steve would like that. It was his one regret that we haven’t been able to make contact before now, but we could not interfere.” 

Bucky smiled and the pair turned their attention back to Steve and Sam. The Sun was just setting. Loki went over and took the seat next to Steve, his arm around his waist. 

As red filled the sky, Steve took Loki’s chin and drew him into a kiss, knowing that their mission was over.

The end

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the story from the films, but I have one more chapter for you. After all, what is a marvel movie without a post-credit scene


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The post-credit scene: What happened back in time.

On a rooftop across from the Sanctum Sanctorum. Steve and Loki watched as the Ancient One appeared to be talking to thin air. 

Bruce had told them that it was because he was some sort of ghost and not to worry. Loki seemed unfazed by this having already witnessed the Sorcerers ability for astral projection first-hand but it still unnerved Steve. Suddenly, Bruce’s body lifted into the air and the woman simply handed over the Time Stone. Bruce thanked her after making his promise that it would be returned before he activated his suit to head home.

The Ancient One then turned to the roof where Steve and Loki had been watching. She beckoned. Loki took this as their cue and teleported them to the roof of the Sanctum Sanctorum.

“We meet again, Loki of Asgard, although I believe this shall be the last time. I am pleased to see that my faith in the Doctor was not misplaced.”

“Greetings Ancient One. You look as youthful as ever, one would almost think you were not of this realm.” Loki replied with a guarded smile, knowing not to take anything with her for granted.

Steve, not wishing to take longer than needed, opened the case revealing their two remaining stones. He was pleased that this was relatively straight forward. The mind stone had been a little awkward, although nothing compared to Steve meeting the red skull once more. The phantom didn’t seem to register that he had ever met Steve before, just took to stone from them and floated away. 

The Ancient one summoned the Time Stone, which floated through the air and seated itself once more in the Eye of Agamotto. She looked between the two of them for a moment and then smiled. “I see your future and it will be bright. Although it will not be where you believe it shall be.”

Then without another word, she headed to the roof door and re-entered the Sanctum Sanctorum. Steve raised an eyebrow at Loki, who meanly shrugged. 

“At least Strange does not speak in riddles. Now, there is only one more stone. When did you retrieve it?” Loki asked, ready to set his guidance system. 

“It was at Camp LeHigh in nineteen-seventy. Be careful, I know I already talked to Peggy but Howard is there too.” Steve said. 

Steve check their Pym particles, they had enough for this trip and then home. Hank Pym had been reluctant to give them more than what they needed and a few spares as he didn’t want them to in his words ‘Go joy riding across time’. Scott had been more offended than Steve by the comment but nothing any of them said could change his mind. Their spares had been used as they had first attempted to stop Amora from escaping with the Tesseract, but they failed and in turn, missed their window to return the mind stone to Rumlow and his team. 

“Ok as much as I’m sounding like Scott here, we can’t afford to make a mistake here, we’ve got enough to get home and I can’t sneak into the lab again for more particles.” Steve said, looking at his guidance system. “Coordinates are zero-four, zero-seven. Nineteen-seventy.”

Loki entered the data then counted down. “three….two….one”

It should have been easy. Slip into the secure storage area, return the space stone inside its newly fashion cube created by Loki, slip out and go home. Of course, as had been the theme of their whole life, it hadn’t been easy at all. Steve had underestimated how quick the discovery of the missing Tessarect and particles would be. Steve and Loki had materialised in the middle of a base on high alert searching for intruders.

Just to make it worse, the first person they ran into was the woman from the elevator who didn’t waste any time at raising the alarm. Not wanting to hurt anyone, the pair turned on their heels and sprinted away for the scene. Unfortunately, teams of guards were everywhere, and shots were soon flying in their direction. Steve stifled a cry as the bullet ripped through his thigh, making him stumble. Loki slowed and turned to help him when another shot rang out. The bullet hit Loki in the head, and he fell without a word. 

“NOOOO” Steve screamed. He dragged himself up and ignoring the pain, pulled his lover behind cover. He quickly checked his pulse, luckily it was in the same place as humans, and thanked God that the bullet had only grazed his temple which meant there would no permanent damage. 

Still, they were in trouble. He couldn’t wait for Loki to recover sufficiently to teleport them away and his leg meant that he couldn’t travel very far at speed carrying Loki. There was only one this he could think of doing. 

Steve tossed the case holding the Tesseract away towards the pursuing guard, hoping that investigating it would provide him more time. Plus, it was the only way at this point that it be could return as promised. He then grabbed Loki’s GPS and synced it with his. The wound in his thigh was still bleeding heavily and the blood loss was making it hard to concentrate. His vision blurred as he entered the coordinates. He just about managed to activate his GPS before he lost consciousness.

Steve could have been more relieved that when he opened his eyes, there was blue sky visible through the trees above his head. He lifted his head and could see Loki standing, looking at something in the distance, seemingly fully recovered. Steve looked down at his leg, seeing that the wound had been bound and the bleeding stopped.

Loki must have heard Steve stirring and said. “It would seem that the destination was set in error.”

Steve frowned and stood up, gingerly putting weight on his injured leg. He knew straight away what Loki had meant. He recognised the area of land around them. This was the clearing where they had left from on their mission to return the stones. However, the was no sign of Bruce, Sam, Bucky or the time tunnel. And instead of looking out over a battlefield, there was no evidence of there even having been a building there at all. All he could see was green fields and much thicker treelines leading down to the water.

Steve looked at his guidance system and saw that instead of setting it for 2023, he had entered 1953 seventy years away from where they were meant to be.

He showed Loki the device. “Loki, I am so sorry.”

Loki took his hand and shook his head. “We were being pursued and I was hardly in a position to help. Given the state you were in when I awoke, it’s lucky you were able to do anything at all. You did the only thing you could, and we are safe if a little earlier then we intended.”

Loki looked out on the landscape again. “The only thing we must do is decide what to do now. I do not think it wise to return to Asgard. It might be better to make contact with SHIELD. There is much we could tell them.”

“Or we could not.” Steve interrupted. Loki looked at him, his eyes narrowed, waiting to see what he was going to say next. “Loki, since we first met, we have had one year where we have been able to be together. One year out of nearly eighty. I don’t want to lose you again and we go join SHIELD or go to Asgard, I could. Tony and Peggy told me to stop living for the mission, to get a life and I want that. We know the world will be okay and if we interfere it could not end up that way. So even though we know about Hydra and Bucky and Thanos, maybe we should let the future play out and live for us.”

Loki considered his words, never imagining that he would ever hear them from his lover. He had no trouble admitting that the picture he was painting was appealing, particularly as his arguments were sound. 

“My love, you have become wise. There is a place I know, where your years could be extended to match my own, but once there you could never return.” Loki replied. 

Steve nodded, knowing he didn’t want to leave Loki any sooner than he had too. “There is just one this I have to do before we go. The world needs Captain America and I know just the man.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, the last chapter. It has been a long road and it is both great and sad to come to the end. Unless something comes up in the Loki Series, I think this will be a wrap. 
> 
> So thank you, everyone for reading and to Shallowgenepool and Cellis in particular for helping me through the many headaches and plot holes.

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback is always welcome


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